Wallpaper Wednesday: Denard Robinson

Believe it or not, I had this Denard wallpaper prepared before he ripped off 383 yards against UConn. As a result, he was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Offensive Player of the Week Sunday and picked up Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Hail!

We don't need no stinking healing post

Michigan 30
UConn 10

Denard..... this bud is for you!!!!!

This is what 113,090 looks like.

A Girl Scouts: Scrimmage 8/21/2010

Well boys and girls. T9 got the chance (along with a dozen hundred others, or so) to check out the new premium seats and the team.

Lemme say, the stadium looks great! The new sound system will have the place ROCKIN'.
And tomorrow is the annual Fan Day.

Beyond that, you are on your own.

Just kidding.

In theory there were no photos/videos allowed. Rule follower here did just that. I'm betting you will be able to find some other blog/website with the contraband if you desire. Me? I'm just going to share what I saw.

Denard: He will absolutely start as he is clearly the leader on the team. He had the most energy during warm-ups, was the first one and the fastest one doing stretch drills, and was clearly the first-team QB of the day during the 'scrimmage'. He hit a nice 23-ish yard pass on a WICKED play fake to Grady. And then ran it in for another 25 or so on a QB draw, juking a DB as he went. Enough to even get the sidelines "ooh-ing".

Tater: Low energy, still doesn't step into his throws. Can hit Tacopants on a dime though....ie, over threw a bunch. Just didn't seem engaged, although propped his center up when a bad snap caused a fumble. He and Denard didn't seem to have much love for each other. Not nasty, just not talking to one another or very friendly---at least from the nosebleed seats.

Devin Gardner: Our lucky number 7. Lemme tell you this kid looks GOOD. Tall, poised, mobile, accurate, made smart reads--he got most of the action for the day.

RBs: Ooooh we got a bunch of them! Mike Shaw looks strong and fast. Although I think he coughed one up. Vince Smith is a beast. He looks fast and confident and was not afraid to go lateral. Quote of the day? "Cox your ball carrier". Hoping for more Beavis and Butthead like comments soon! heh-heh. heh-heh.

And, all of the QBs got some snaps up under center from the typical, old-school, smash-mouth, big ugly I-formation football. Niiiiice.

Big ol' number 77 Taylor Lewan even got flagged for a personal foul after the whistle going after safety Jordan Kovacs. I like the intensity!

AND NOW TO EVERYONE'S QUESTION:

THE DEFENSE

Unfortunately, it will remain a mystery. Lots of different looks, lots of substitutions and variation. I will say, however, that the D closes fast and hits hard. Still no support in the middle, but better pursuit angles and zone-like defense. Anyone hits us deep on the edge though and that will be 6. A lot.
Like I said before, best Defense??? BALL CONTROL OFFENSE.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Take your anti-acids now. Kick off team didn't kick it into the end-zone once, and didn't control the return. Punt coverage? Close your eyes as it may be a scary ride.

OVERALL????
I'm stoked for the season to start already!!!!!
I'm excited for the "new" stadium and "new" crowd traditions.
And, I've got my fingers crossed that we can win the ones we are supposed to and that everyone stays healthy.

GO BLUE !!!!!!!
BEAT CONNECTICUT

Five Questions

Actual football practice starts soon. I thought it might be fun to toss out a couple of simple, yet relevant questions to get the football juices flowing and the conversation started. The primary goal of this place for both T9 and me is to have some fun and continue the strong MZone community. Based on our web logs, I know we have a lot of readers; I am looking to pull some of you out of the shadows and open the doors for more participation. Don’t be afraid. All opinions are valid. You can answer any or all of these.

What needs to happen for RR to be Michigan’s coach in 2011 ?
As I stated a couple of months ago, I don’t think Rich Rodriguez will ever be successful here. He is the definition of a lightning rod, if by lightning you mean idiotic drama cloaked in an overcoat of controversy dripping in healthy layer of unreasonable hatred. The constant splat of bad news has worn me down -- and I don’t think it will quit. It is getting to the point where I am not surprised any more.

As a Michigan supporter, I want to win. I am tired of being the laughing stock of college football. For those of you that cheer against us because we are a bunch of arrogant pricks, please stop. Rest assured I am comprehensively and perpetually humbled. I just want us to be an ordinary successful college football program again.

That being said, I think three things need to happen to prevent Dave Brandon from holding a press conference and announcing a coaching change after the Ohio State game in November.

1) We need a winning season with a bowl bid.
2) We need to win two of the three traditional rivalry games (Notre Dame, Michigan State, or Ohio State).
3) There needs to be no more NCAA rules drama.

If any of those three things does not happen, we will be looking for a new coach and start this “re-building” process over. I no longer fear the prospect of starting over from scratch, again. You need to look no further than our new siblings in Lincoln to see that a once proud program can crash into the side of a mountain and eventually put the pieces back together again to be respectable. If they can recover from Bill Callahan, we can recover from this.

Realistically, how many wins will this team see?
I have looked up and down the schedule at least a thousand times – and I believe I spot seven.

If things go completely right (offense clicks and defense makes tackles) we may see nine wins. If things go badly from the start (like losing to both UConn and Notre Dame to open the season) we could be staring at another three win nightmare. At that point I will lead the campaign for a complete program meltdown.

UConn: We have no injuries and have better players.
Notre Dame: I never expect a win in South Bend.
UMass: Losing here would be worse than the loss to Appy State.
Bowling Green: We have another MAC win streak to protect.
Indiana: They played us very tough last year.
Sparty: Home game. Time to return things to normal.
Iowa: Who scheduled these giants for homecoming?
Penn State: By the time they play us, their issues will be fixed.
Illinois: My expectation is Ron Zook will be fired by this point.
Purdue: I can’t believe I want to beat Purdue so badly.
Wisconsin: Too much size and talent for our defense.
Ohio State: Our next win against these guys won’t be in Columbus

Opponent UConn Notre Dame UMass Bowling Green Indiana Sparty Iowa Penn State Illinois Purdue Wisconsin Ohio State

My Dream Win Win Win Win Win Win Loss Win Win Win Loss Loss 9-3

My Nightmare Loss Loss Win Win Loss Loss Loss Loss Win Loss Loss Loss 3-9

My guess Win Loss Win Win Win Win Loss Loss Win Win Loss Loss 7-5

Denard or Tate ?
I know this will sound corny, but my answer is both… we need BOTH at this point. The teams in the B11 are not getting any smaller or weaker. In this offense, the QB is going to get hit. A lot. Injuries are going to happen when you line up a bunch of smurfs against a bunch of monsters. We need more than one QB to make this work.

My preference is Denard. I am just giddy at the prospect of him running our full offense, he is just that damn exciting to watch. I would love to see him emerge as an accurate passer to go along with his astonishing running ability. Unless something changes drastically in fall practice, I expect him to begin the season as the starter.

On the other hand, I was and could be very satisfied with a productive and healthy Tate. There was no doubt he is an exciting and capable quarterback. Things turned sour last season when he tried to do too much and got hurt. The fact remains, he was a true freshman. Going forward, he needs to make healthier decisions and take care of the football better as a sophomore and beyond.

Did Troy Woolfolk cross the line at the B10 meetings when he called out Tate’s work ethic?

I have to admit, I was a little surprised when I read the comments this week. Senior leadership is an important and powerful thing. If Troy was a sophomore and Tate was a senior, I would be very very concerned with the chemistry on the team. Right now, with all that is going on with this program… whatever.

One thing to remember, he is a cornerback and they tend to talk a lot of smack. I honestly think he intended to highlight the off season efforts of Denard. The “diseased” comments that followed appeared to me to be the unfiltered ramblings of a college kid with a bunch of microphones stuffed in front of his face. He was expressing his feelings and doing what he felt was right as a leader. I can’t fault him for that.

Best case: Tate gets the message, starts to work harder and matures into a leader to match his talent.
Worst case: Tate continues to be lazy, loses his starting job to Denard, and transfers to Stanford.
Likely case: Tate tells Troy to “fuck off” under his breath after he throws at TD over him in practice next week.

Will we ever beat Ohio State again?
It took 40+ years, but Navy beat Notre Dame. Twice.
It will happen. Someday. Maybe. Hopefully.

Candidly, I don’t expect it in the next couple of years and it may not ever be against Jim Tressel again.
Right now, they are good. Really good. We are not. It is as simple as that.

When it does eventually happen… on that day I promise to smile a lot and enjoy it. I just hope I live long enough to experience it again.

Over scheduled

I don't need to tell anyone that visits here on a regular basis, but things have been a little slow. Not a lot of college football stuff to comment on and when you add in a real job that requires me to like.... work, and this place is becoming down right boring. I'd like to blame T9, but I know she has a job and a life also.

In an effort to fix, I decided to put together a schedule wallpaper. and then I had another idea. and another, until I clearly went overboard. Rather than choose just one, I thought I would share them all. Let me know which one you like the best.

Will Campbell

Darryl Stonum

Michael Shaw

Denard Robinson

Tate Forcier

Roy Roundtree & friends

Denard

NCAA Football 11

Tonight at midnight, EA sports releases their latest and greatest version of the popular college football game, NCAA 11. My son has already pre-ordered his copy and I am sure he will be up earlier than he has been all summer to pick it up at BestBuy. By noon, he should have his first National Championship under his belt.

If you have not bought the game in the past couple of years, reports from the gaming community say this might be the year you need to get the new game. Improvements in the transitions, the addition of QB vision cone and player locomotion will be interesting. And yes, they have updated Michigan Stadium to include the new press box/suite structure.

The biggest issue for me at this point is the inclusion of Denver Bronco kick-returner Tim Tebow on the cover. Don't worry, there are plenty of custom covers available to replace the future NFL bust.

Custom Cover genius BIGDMO has a great collection, including Tate Forcier in all game consoles.



Denard Robinson is also available in a couple of different versions, one from cazihead and another from Spartyon6686.

Full resolution

Full resolution

And for those of you looking for an "old school" touch, veteran cover maker easportsfan1 made this Tom Brady version for PS3.

Full resolution

and finally, I created a Brandon Graham version this morning.

You can download my full version here.

Go Blue.

Spring Game 2010

Football. Finally.

I am really looking forward to watching the Spring Game tonight, even if it is on BTN tape delay. Based on what I have read, Denard Robinson has made significant improvements to become more than a wildcat runner. I would love to watch him become the star of the Michigan offense for the next 3 years.

Today should give us a good idea on if that can happen.

Edit: Loyal Spawner SiC sent this image from the stadium. It is 42 degrees.