Are you impressed?

[bdtay1971]

Morris isn't Henson. He can't even be a Henne as there is no Braylon. Gardner taking care of the ball and creating on 3rd downs and when things break down is what will get things done. He can make all the passes Morris can and can't make.

Let Morris be more Brady than Henson. Sit and get yours when you can.

I completely agree with you ...... this year. However, with Brady desiring to transition this team to a pro style offense, the young O-line getting another year under their belt, and Green/Smith having another year to mature, I don't think it's crazy to think Morris will seriously challenge for the QB spot. And if Devin doesn't improve his accuracy then I would hope Morris would be the better choice or I gotta wonder how he was considered a 5 star QB. I do think the best case scenario is that Devin turns it around and is the starter next year but at this point I gotta wonder about his throwing ability.

 

[wlvrnstlr4life]

Morris isn't Henson. He can't even be a Henne as there is no Braylon. Gardner taking care of the ball and creating on 3rd downs and when things break down is what will get things done. He can make all the passes Morris can and can't make.

Let Morris be more Brady than Henson. Sit and get yours when you can.

That is IF Gardner can take care of the ball. I think that's everyone's point. If he's not taking care of it, it can't be any worse puting in a 5* qb. He may make a mistake, but at least he's gaining valuable experience. Again, Im just puting it out there why you cant get on people for wanting a change. I can see both sides of the argument. I also think when Bellomy came in last year, it has folks jaded about making such a change. I know I'm right about that one.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

Really? Gardner was consistently bailed out today by his Receivers. He just isn't accurate with his throws and unless that changes a good defense will make him pay. Now, he is incredibly gifted and if he can start throwing with a bit of accuracy, he would be unstoppable. He won't lose his job to a Freshman QB but if he doesn't improve as a passer then I could see him losing it next year, if Morris lives up to his billing.

No, just no. It's stupid. A 5th year senior is not going to lose his job to a sophomore. And Gardner had plenty of passes today that were right on the money. Some of them pretty important to keeping our lead in the game.

 

[bdtay1971]

No, just no. It's stupid. A 5th year senior is not going to lose his job to a sophomore. And Gardner had plenty of passes today that were right on the money. Some of them pretty important to keeping our lead in the game.

Maybe he does and maybe he doesn't. I wish I had your blinders on. The only accurate throws he made were on routes where the receiver sat down in the zone and was wide open. Anything to a moving target was off the mark. One was close to being a pick six early in the game.

 

[wheels002]

We havnt seen enough of Shane to say he would be any better than Devin. We cant take the chance of destroying what ever confidence that Devin has by even trying to go to Shane.

 

[Diggler Cometh]

Quit talking about Morris being a 5*. Gardner was a 5* too in case you forgot. So what does that have to do with anything?

 

[wheels002]

I know that all reports from summer ball said Shane didnt look great at all. he hadnt played football in almost a year except for the all star game because he had mono and it wiped out all but 2 games of his senior year and caused him to lose 30lbs and he was a rail before that. It just isnt as simple as plug another player in and off you go. Shane isnt ready.

 

[cmrlily]

I was impressed for the most part. I thought the defense played well except for that agonizing 9 minute drive. O line seemed a notch better.

I'm worried about the Pipkins injury though.

 

[jwlcosu]

Really? Gardner was consistently bailed out today by his Receivers.

This is the primary takeaway from outside observers. Your receivers played great. Lots of difficult grabs. Game ball to them.

 

[TheVictors]

See fellas, an "outsider" with an objective opinion has settled everything.


Great game by the receivers, bailing out Gardner.

Thanks, bucknut - we cherish and anticipate your every "objective" post.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

Maybe he does and maybe he doesn't. I wish I had your blinders on. The only accurate throws he made were on routes where the receiver sat down in the zone and was wide open. Anything to a moving target was off the mark. One was close to being a pick six early in the game.

Did you miss the throw to Funchess in stride for like 40 yards? He also threw a strike right over the middle, through a bunch of defenders, to Funchess on one of the first pass plays. I can only think of a couple where the receivers probably shouldn't have caught it but did. And then there's also the ones that the receivers dropped, like wide open Delio.

The fact is, they all played much better. Garder did what he had to do and had 0 interceptions. Even if the WR's hadn't have caught some of those passes, he made better decisions. To add to that, he had some pretty darn good throws. Not every throw is going to be right on the mark.

I'm far more worried about our defense never getting pressure on the QB, keeping contain and leaving guys wide open over the middle than I am our offense. I think it's safe to say our offense is going to score 21+ points a game easily. The defense should be able to hold teams to at least keep us in every game.

 

[bdtay1971]

Did you miss the throw to Funchess in stride for like 40 yards? He also threw a strike right over the middle, through a bunch of defenders, to Funchess on one of the first pass plays. I can only think of a couple where the receivers probably shouldn't have caught it but did. And then there's also the ones that the receivers dropped, like wide open Delio.

The fact is, they all played much better. Garder did what he had to do and had 0 interceptions. Even if the WR's hadn't have caught some of those passes, he made better decisions. To add to that, he had some pretty darn good throws. Not every throw is going to be right on the mark.

I'm far more worried about our defense never getting pressure on the QB, keeping contain and leaving guys wide open over the middle than I am our offense. I think it's safe to say our offense is going to score 21+ points a game easily. The defense should be able to hold teams to at least keep us in every game.

You're right, the throw to Funchess was a nice one. My post was never meant to be so anti DG. It's best for the team that he grows as QB throughout the year cuz we will really need him, the last 5 games in particular, to make plays in order to win. I agree that he played better but I just think it was marginally better against another weak opponent. The defense has it's share of issues but I still think the offense is the bigger concern. To say we should easily score 21+ points a game is a bit of a stretch right now. We put up 28 and 24 against very weak opponents and 14 of our 42 against Minny were scored by the D, 6 of them literally. We're you at the game or watching on TV? The "dropped" ball by Dileo was an example of Gardner being way off the mark on a wide open WR. He threw it high and a tad behind him. That was a failed 3rd down conversion and was DG. The catch Funchess made at the five,was very close to not being a catch at all and another example of a bad throw to an open man on 3rd down again. He made better decisions though so, marginally better. The Offense still had trouble running the ball consistently against a weak Minny D.

 

[bamf_16]

I still have the game on the DVR; maybe I'll watch again later this morning, but of Gardner's 17 throws, I only remember two of them being worthy of the severe criticism he's getting. The rollout to Dileo that went high was bad. The deep pass to Gallon was off as well. Which others? Other than that, I'm not remembering much that was all that bad. He had a great throw to Funchess in the 4th quarter; the TD pass to him was pretty good too.

I wonder how much of this stems from color guy Ed Cunningham being in the wrong part of his menstrual cycle yesterday.

 

[TheVictors]

I keep forgetting to DVR these games.

 

[bamf_16]

Screw watching the whole thing...here is the list of Devin's 17 passes that he threw.

1. 2nd and 9 from own 2, three step drop, 8 yard gain to Chesson, hit him between the numbers on a curl. (No Yards after catch b/c it was a curl route.)

2. 1st and 10 from 13, PA pass, rollout to right, throws back left to Funchess for 13 yard gain. Cunningham went off on how inaccurate the pass was, but when looking at the replay, if Gardner throws to Funchess in stride, it's likely knocked down by the OLB. He threw the ball in a passing late as much as he threw it to a receiver. (No YAC, Funchess squared up facing Gardner on the catch)

3. 2nd and 10 from 26, Funchess lined up to the left in traditional TE set, Gardner hits him in the hands on a curl, gain of 7. (No YAC; it was a curl route!)

4. 3rd and 3 from 33, defense offsides, on a free play Gardner hits Gallon in the hands on an out. Gain of 10. (No YAC because it was an out route that Gallon caught going out of bounds)

5. 1st and 10 from 43, Gardner rolls right, with two pass rushers in his face he throws to Chesson 18 yards downfield in man to man coverage. Incomplete.

6. 2nd and 10 from 43, flanker screen up middle to Chesson for gain of 2. (3-4 YAC)

7. 3rd and 8 from 45, throws across middle to Funchess. This was the play that should have been PI but wasn't called.

8. 1st and 10 from Minn 38. Gardner escapes trouble, hits Funchess perfectly at 20 for 18 yards. (Little YAC, Funchess facing Gardner when caught)

9. 3rd and 14 from 24, TD pass to Funchess. Pass thrown from the 31, Funchess catches it at the 6, ball thrown a step behind Funchess but obviously caught. (6 YAC b/c touchdown)

3rd Q

10. 2nd and 6 from Minn 44, Gardner rolls right and throws left to Chesson. Pass thrown short and behind Chesson but caught. Gain of 21. (No YAC)

11. 1st and 10 from Minn 23, Gardner throws it away off his back foot in the face of a pass rush up the middle. Cunningham rails Gardner's fundamentals on a play where he's throwing the ball away (10:54 to go in 3rd if any of you still have game recorded or find online.)

12. 3rd and 10 from Minn 23, Gardner on PA complete to Funchess at the 2. Cunningham criticizes the pass as "wasn't a great spiral." Funchess man to man on a safety, does what every QB is told, better to underthrow than overthrow. Could have been thrown about 6 feet further and hit Funchess in chest, but this is hardly a throw to point to when questioning a QBs ability to be accurate. He didn't bounce it to an open receiver, nor did he do a Tommy Rees and throw it to someone in the second row. (No YAC b/c lunging back towards ball)

13. 3rd and 7 from 28, hits Dileo at 40 on a curl route, if Dileo doesn't catch it it hits his facemask. (No YAC b/c another curl route) (now 10-13 for 138 and a TD.)

14. 1st and 10 from 40, this is the skinny post of sorts to Gallon off a PA fake. Pass thrown behind Gallon but caught. Cunningham rails Gardner again. Pass slightly underthrown, no YAC

This is where Cunningham went off on how only 18 of 167 passing yards came after the catch. True stat, but how many opportunities for YAC on curl routes, out routes, TD passes caught at the 5, and jump balls at the 2?!

-Not a pass, but on 3rd and 5 from 25, Minn rushes 3, Gardner runs down to the 12 picking up the 1st down. Cunningham, "Accuracy issues or not, this is a very dynamic player." Fuck him. This guy saw film of Gardner's last two games where there WERE significant accuracy issues, and he went to AA yesterday bound and determined to comment on accuracy issues wherever present, and harp on them deserved or not.

15. 3rd and 5 from 34, this was the incomplete pass on the rollout. Dileo was a little off balance and flat footed. A non "smurf" or average size WR that Hoke wants catches it, but I'm going to be highly critical of Gardner on this one. There was no one within 4 yards; hit the guy on the 9 and let him fall down for the 1st. Cunningham broad criticism of Gardner's accuracy.

16. 3rd and 11 from own 29, hits Funchess in stride at Michigan 47, Funchess falls down to Minn 47. Absolutely perfect throw.

17. 3rd and 12 from midfield, hits Funchess on long bomb down the sidelines to the 4.

13-17, 235 and a TD, no turnovers.

 

[bamf_16]

Actually a half hour well spent. You always hear coaches at postgame press conferences talking about having to watch the film before they make definitive statements on how guys performed, and this is another example of it. Shoot, when I was coaching high school there were times I thought some of our guys played like shit, then watching the film you realize they played better than you thought.

Ed Cunningham entered Michigan Stadium yesterday with Gardner inaccuracy as a talking point. In some ways I can't blame him. He has a job to do and he tried to do it. The way Gardner played the previous two games, I could see a color guy coming in with those points to be made. But a really good color guy recognizes what is happening in the game that moment, and adjusts. No one will ever call Ed Cunningham a really good color guy.

Was anyone at the game? Did you walk out of the stadium thinking, "man, Gardner was really inaccurate again today?" I wonder to what extent the broadcast shaped people's opinions of what they saw. Watching those passes again really makes the "Start Shane Morris" crowd look dumber.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

You're right, the throw to Funchess was a nice one. My post was never meant to be so anti DG. It's best for the team that he grows as QB throughout the year cuz we will really need him, the last 5 games in particular, to make plays in order to win. I agree that he played better but I just think it was marginally better against another weak opponent. The defense has it's share of issues but I still think the offense is the bigger concern. To say we should easily score 21+ points a game is a bit of a stretch right now. We put up 28 and 24 against very weak opponents and 14 of our 42 against Minny were scored by the D, 6 of them literally. We're you at the game or watching on TV? The "dropped" ball by Dileo was an example of Gardner being way off the mark on a wide open WR. He threw it high and a tad behind him. That was a failed 3rd down conversion and was DG. The catch Funchess made at the five,was very close to not being a catch at all and another example of a bad throw to an open man on 3rd down again. He made better decisions though so, marginally better. The Offense still had trouble running the ball consistently against a weak Minny D.

With the current offensive line, and Funchess lining up at WR, I have no problem thinking we'll score 21+ a game. While Minnesota is a weak opponent, they're no where near as weak as Akron and UConn. So we did pretty dominantly handle Minnesota yesterday. There were areas that need to be improved but the offensive line moves seem to have worked out for the best.

The Delio drop hit him in the hands, no matter if it was a little high - it was well within the range of catchable.

Like I said, there were a couple of throws that were made entirely by the WR - the Funchess catch at the yard line was a good example of one. Gallon made another. Other than that, most throws were well within an acceptable accuracy range. That long 40 yard throw was the hardest throw of the day attempted and Gardner threw it in there with great touch and accuracy. This offense is not ever going to look like Manning and the Denver Broncos but it's certainly finally starting to click again. I think you're putting far too much importance on a few missed throws and a few throws that probably shouldn't have been caught. Every QB has throws that probably shouldn't be caught but are because you have great WR's. And that's what they're supposed to do. Funchess and Gallon are great talents and it shows on some bad throws.

Minnesota's defense is actually OK. Their strength is up the middle and that's exactly where we were rushing. I have no problem with how our running game did against them. They were getting 3 or 4 yards per attempt, and that's when Minnesota knew we were running the ball. We didn't even have a pass until the 2nd quarter. Minnesota was trying to stop our runs and they couldn't. The yards we racked up is irrelevant in this case because most drives were successful, some just happened to start in short fields.

Either way, the idea that Morris even has a shot to take over for Gardner next year is silly.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

Actually a half hour well spent. You always hear coaches at postgame press conferences talking about having to watch the film before they make definitive statements on how guys performed, and this is another example of it. Shoot, when I was coaching high school there were times I thought some of our guys played like shit, then watching the film you realize they played better than you thought.

Ed Cunningham entered Michigan Stadium yesterday with Gardner inaccuracy as a talking point. In some ways I can't blame him. He has a job to do and he tried to do it. The way Gardner played the previous two games, I could see a color guy coming in with those points to be made. But a really good color guy recognizes what is happening in the game that moment, and adjusts. No one will ever call Ed Cunningham a really good color guy.

Was anyone at the game? Did you walk out of the stadium thinking, "man, Gardner was really inaccurate again today?" I wonder to what extent the broadcast shaped people's opinions of what they saw. Watching those passes again really makes the "Start Shane Morris" crowd look dumber.

I was at the game and no I thought Devin did great, especially on some of the tougher throws of the day. I also thought Funchess looked like a star WR, not a TE. Ever since recruiting sites started ranking kids, you always have the people calling for the guy behind them because they're a "five star". I've been guilty of that before (kovacs). But in this case, it really is just stupid. Take away Gardner's ability to run in this offense by putting Morris in, and we have a huge issue.

 

[bamf_16]

I was at the game and no I thought Devin did great, especially on some of the tougher throws of the day. I also thought Funchess looked like a star WR, not a TE. Ever since recruiting sites started ranking kids, you always have the people calling for the guy behind them because they're a "five star". I've been guilty of that before (kovacs). But in this case, it really is just stupid. Take away Gardner's ability to run in this offense by putting Morris in, and we have a huge issue.

Ok...I was just wondering. There were a couple times yesterday I thought Ed Cunningham was a little rough on DG and his accuracy, when I've seen Manziel underthrow his big WR (can't remember the guy's name) and everyone cheers him for being a smart QB who lets his big WR make a play on the ball, and then when Gardner could have been given the same critique, they chose to discuss his inaccuracy. After watching Gardner again today on DVR w/o the stress and emotion of a live game, I sit here now thinking more highly of his play than I did yesterday at around 6:30.

 

[tinselwolverine]

I thought Michigan played about as expected, unlike in each of the last two games.

Gardner was a little inaccurate on a couple of throws, and the defense didn't contain that freshman Minnesota QB when he tucked and ran after pass protection started to break down on him as well as one might have liked, especially in the first half.

Minnesota came in with a pretty good record; they may end up having a reasonably good season when all is said and done.

Another one down, 5-0, team has gotta get better every week.