Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Steve Threet makes it official: Our take on it



Steve Threet makes it official:

Threet announced Monday that he is leaving the University of Michigan football program. In a prepared statement to the Detroit News -- article from Angelique Chengelis ( http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090216/SPORTS0201/902160378/1131)

"I have requested and received my release. I do not yet know where I will continue my collegiate career and will have no further comment until that decision is made."
We have been hearing about this rumor for quite sometime. There are things that are going around about what actually happened. We are not stating these are facts, but what we have heard. First off, sometime after the last game and Christmas break Steve Threet and his parents asked Coach Rod for a meeting to talk about Threet's future and the direction that Coach Rod sees for Threet.

They were told that this meeting would have to wait until after signing day??? Does this seem right? To be telling your possible starting quarterback for the 2009 season that you don't have time for him right now, because you're to busy recruiting kids that might not even come here? Basically saying that those kids are more important than giving thirty to sixty minutes to meet with your starting quarterback and his family.

And what happened to all the talk of using some schemes of an Oklahoma-style offense that we kept hearing about involving the tight end and the wide receivers? Will we see it this spring? We need to ... to keep Tate healthy and get the best players the ball.

How does this help and hurt the program in the long term and short term? Again, if you win, these issues will go away very quickly. But if this team struggles, a lot of criticism will focus on how these situations were handled. It is the nature of the beast. We are going to examine some of these issues and discuss where the program go from here.

The negative of Steve Threet leaving now:

This is a short term loss, which will hurt in the spring, summer, fall and early part of the season. Having your starting quarterback transfer does not make for good media coverage. Even if Threet did not start the whole year and was replaced in the middle of the season, having an experienced quarterback, that teammates respect, is worth his weight in gold. Threet could have helped the younger quarterbacks deal with the wrath of Coach Rod and what to look out for.

Threet was the quarterback who gave Michigan the best chance to win last season, regardless who started the first game of the season. Even in that game, it was Threet who gave Michigan a chance to win. The other advantage about Threet, is that his teammates supported him 100%, his support of the young quarterbacks would help them immensely in fitting in with the team.

In games, like against Notre Dame, where Threet threw 23 passes, and Sheridan only threw 4 or something like that, Threet has gained knowledge and experience that Sheridan doesn't have. In the film room, Threet can talk about what looks Tenuta threw at him, what looks confused him, what he read wrong, etc. Square peg in a round hole, or not, there's a lot Threet could have passed on to help Forcier prep for games.

Forcier, if he now wins the job, will give Michigan less of a chance to beat Notre Dame than Threet would have. Coach Tenuta / Brown will throw more SHIT at him than he will have been exposed to in practice simulations that early on in the season, with the different pass coverage's, blitz packages and anything else they can dream up to throw at, and confuse, a very green, freshman quarterback.

Steve, having extra year of time in the film room under tutelage of Coach Smith, Coach Rod and Coach Magee, would have been a huge help. Having already prepped for opponents and having an idea what sorts of schemes they run, and their various personnel, Threet would have an edge over any freshman quarterback. Another year of physical maturity, and time with Barwis, was another advantage. Having been on sidelines and dealt with Coach Rod's wrath and frustration is yet another advantage. Having already earned the respect of his teammates, having survived an extremely trying season, taking a lot of heat with class and dignity, is yet another. We can go on and on!

Sheridan did not gain the experience Threet did. He usually put in, not so much to help the team win, but more with the goal of not making it any worse than it already was.

Ridiculous to celebrate Threet leaving. I swear, we never learn. How many kids have been labeled potential superstars, recently, but have fallen flat? How is losing a kid, who may not have been the best player, but one who provided a little experience and gumption, be a good thing? There is no guarantee that Forcier will be a great quarterback. What happens if he gets hurt? In this offense it could very well happen, then we are stuck with Sheridan again, or Denard Robinson who might not even be ready to play this year, but will be forced to. (Our guess is that D-Rob would see about 5-10 snaps this year.)

You can't keep losing players and then suggest that the new kid(s) will save the day. At some point, you need to stop the bleeding of talent and get players to stay and learn to get things done on the field, as opposed to the message boards. Threet leaving makes Michigan weaker in 2009 -- period -- whether or not he eventually lost his spot to Robinson, Forcier, Sheridan, etc. (And by the way, Gardner and Bolden are not guarantees to pick Michigan, especially Bolden who wouldn't pick Michigan if signing day was today.)

The positive of Steve Threet leaving now:

In the long run, having a quarterback who is a better fits for Coach Rod's system is going to pay dividends in the long run. That would be Tate and Robinson. They will both hit the ground running, not having to learn a third offensive system in as many years as Threet had to do. Also, whoever starts at quarterback this year will have a big leg up from the fact that the rest of offense will know the playbook much better than last year. This alone should account for noticeable improvement this spring. Not having everybody start from Square One is a definite help.

If Tate stays healthy, by the end of the season, he will give Michigan a better shot at beating Ohio State than Threet would have.

Sheridan can be a big help, and we expect he will be. Sheridan can be a definite positive influence on the young quarterbacks.

Happy players make for happy football programs. If Threet was not going to be happy in his role at Michigan, then it is better for all involved that he moved on. One of the top priorities of any coaching staff is to get everyone on the same page, pulling together as one. Unhappy players can split a team, negatively impacting the all important team cohesion, but make no mistake, Threet's leaving is truly a loss.

Having said this, there were parts of the playbook that Threet, try as he might -- and he valiantly did try -- just did not have the skill set to execute. Threet's exit will afford Forcier more reps with the first squad and open up the way for him to takeover the needed leadership role. And finally, with a true dual threat quarteback taking snaps, Michigan can put away their stop-gap offensive measures and start looking to the future where Coach Rod and staff start implementing their entire offensive arsenal.

We will have a better feel for what is going on after spring practice. Let's see how Tate holds up, especially if, like last year, the quarterbacks were "fresh meat" for the defense and actually taking hits.

Thanks for stopping by http://gobluemichiganwolverine.blogspot.com/
If you have any questions please e-mail erocwolverine@gmail.com

Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

One item that will make a huge difference is the play of the offensive line. To have an experienced line in front of Tate will help this transition. If we had a freshman QB with a new OLine, we may be in for another season like last year. With the OLine we have now, I feel much more confident.

Mark G. Davis said...

Why is your explanation sounding like more of an excuse than rational commentary? How is it that many other programs have brought on a true freshman (I'm looking at you OSU and Pryor) and almost win a BCS game with a true freshman, but not going to be possible at Michigan? I think I'm more optomistic that the overall team will be better this season even with a freshman QB. I didn't see Threet ever fitting in from Day 1 at Michigan regardless of the coach/system. He just didn't seem like he was all there. How little do we forget Chad Henne started as a freshman.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Mark. Last year's QB problems weren't so much inexperience as total lack of talent. There are PLENTY of examples of freshman QBs doing very well. Sure there will be a learning curve and mistakes will be made. But the Forcier and Robinson have run the spread for four years, albeit a high school version. Still, they know what to expect. And most importantly, these guys can complete passes and run, something neither quarterback seemed able to do last year. Can't blame it all on the offensive line, or the system. Our QBs simply sucked. Go back an look at all the unforced errors they committed.

Next year is going to be a lot different.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Mark. Last year's QB problems weren't so much inexperience as total lack of talent. There are PLENTY of examples of freshman QBs doing very well. Sure there will be a learning curve and mistakes will be made. But the Forcier and Robinson have run the spread for four years, albeit a high school version. Still, they know what to expect. And most importantly, these guys can complete passes and run, something neither quarterback seemed able to do last year. Can't blame it all on the offensive line, or the system. Our QBs simply sucked. Go back an look at all the unforced errors they committed.

Next year is going to be a lot different.

Anonymous said...

The only thing I will agree with is that we have NO idea what UM will look like. It's as possible that Tate can come in, learn the offense, and execute it better than Nick and STeve did last year and take UM to a better than .500 season or we could see a replay of last year all over again.

Who knows? No one.

so stay tuned kiddies, it's going to be a fun season ahead of us.

Anonymous said...

Coaches, I fully agree with everything that you wrote from paragraph 3 onward. Your analysis is spot on.

However, the rumor bashing RR is unnecessary, as it is just that. Why would RR say that he didn't want to talk to Threet about his situation before signing day? It's not logical. A month ago, there was an article on Threet in the Toledo press that explained his excitement going into the 2009 season.

All that we heard from RR and Tate/ DRob is that they are getting a shot to compete. RR mentioned Threet & Sheridan in pressers, so I don't believe you should perpetuate baseless rumors (and I know that you guys are connected to the program, so that makes it worse, since people may believe you).

-jblaze

GO BLUE!

Anonymous said...

Faithful, I'd disagree. I truly believe we'll be much better than last year, even with a freshman QB. He's got the weapons around him with a good O-Line. One year in, we should be much better. Even if Sheridan was our QB (I hope not), we should win more games.

GBMWolverine said...

pbwolverine: Agree the team as a whole on the offensive side of the ball will be better for two reasons.

One they have been in the system now and know what to expect along with knowing the playbook.

Two, Can they get any worse then last year with the 110th place offense out of 119 teams. Along with the fact if they cut down the 3 and outs, turnovers, etc ... got to be better.

Last year was some of the worst football I have ever watched on TV, in person from pee-wee to NFL.

GBMWolverine said...

Mark:

Remember Chad Henne has Braylon Edwards and a different offense as well. When Chad got into trouble he just thre the ball up 40 yards down the field and let Braylon go get it.

Don't get me wrong this team better be better and I have said elsewhere that I am still holding that this team has more talent than a lot of teams so 7-5 should not be that far fetched.

The thing with Threet leaving no matter if he did not fit or not puts all the pressure on Tate now.

Nobody knows how a freshman will do and these dummy drills we hear he is doing well at ... well he should ... nobody is blitzing, no pressure, hell no defense, etc...

GBMWolverine said...

Mark:

Remember Chad Henne has Braylon Edwards and a different offense as well. When Chad got into trouble he just thre the ball up 40 yards down the field and let Braylon go get it.

Don't get me wrong this team better be better and I have said elsewhere that I am still holding that this team has more talent than a lot of teams so 7-5 should not be that far fetched.

The thing with Threet leaving no matter if he did not fit or not puts all the pressure on Tate now.

Nobody knows how a freshman will do and these dummy drills we hear he is doing well at ... well he should ... nobody is blitzing, no pressure, hell no defense, etc...

GBMWolverine said...

Anonymous said: Believe me I want Tate to do well. I am just not ready to put all that pressure on him. All he needs to do is manage the game and if the offensive line and other players step it up they will be a lot better team running the ball and a running game will always help any quarterback and make passing the ball that much easier.

Also agree the team on offense was terrible last year. A lot of people believe it was just the quarterback, but it wasn't. All the 3 and outs, the fumbles, turnovers, the problems on special teams that put the defense into big holes, etc.

GBMWolverine said...

Anonymous said: Believe me I want Tate to do well. I am just not ready to put all that pressure on him. All he needs to do is manage the game and if the offensive line and other players step it up they will be a lot better team running the ball and a running game will always help any quarterback and make passing the ball that much easier.

Also agree the team on offense was terrible last year. A lot of people believe it was just the quarterback, but it wasn't. All the 3 and outs, the fumbles, turnovers, the problems on special teams that put the defense into big holes, etc.

GBMWolverine said...

Anonymous said: Believe me I want Tate to do well. I am just not ready to put all that pressure on him. All he needs to do is manage the game and if the offensive line and other players step it up they will be a lot better team running the ball and a running game will always help any quarterback and make passing the ball that much easier.

Also agree the team on offense was terrible last year. A lot of people believe it was just the quarterback, but it wasn't. All the 3 and outs, the fumbles, turnovers, the problems on special teams that put the defense into big holes, etc.

GBMWolverine said...

Wolverine Faithful: I agree we do not know until he is thrown into that first game.

Well Tate could do better or worse, but the offense as a whole will be better. How could it get worse than 110th offense in the country.

That is where this whole notion of the quarterback might have been some of the problem, but sure was not the whole problem.

The WR's did not block, did not run through their routes, did not run crisp-hard routes.

The O-line was bad at the beginning, but htey improved the most from the spring to the last game.

The Quarterbacks struggled like the whole team.

The RB's struggled early on because of the O-line and also holding on to the ball.

The TE's or TE never got the ball enough to see what he can really do.

GBMWolverine said...

jblaze said...
Coaches, I fully agree with everything that you wrote from paragraph 3 onward. Your analysis is spot on.

------------------------------

Well this is the problem we have. Do you want to hear everything or not?

Would you like us to keep quiet about things we have heard or was told or what we seen?

Do we only tell the "Good stuff" and leave out the "bad stuff".

This is the problem I have on GBW posting. Posters over there always say they want to hear everything about their team, but they really don't. They only want to hear the good things. They do not want to hear their players messed up, the coaches messed up and their university messed up on things.

So that leaves what do we do ... give you 70% of the information we know like what other places do because they are afraid of losing business by being negative at times.

Maybe I will set-up a poll and ask this very question to find out what people want and go from there.

Also one little tidbit about htese "rumors" well it came from a great source that I know and trust him.

In this business oen thing you need is people you can count on and trust. If rumors were not allowed to be spread then people would just need to look at their newspapers, but that is a dieing breed.

Like I said when rumors are good people love them and when rumors are bad ... they don't.

Anonymous said...

I agree that the loss of experience will be felt early on, just hoping they can survive the first half of the season with a decent record. As you said, they will have a better chance at winning games at the end of the year with Forcier. Threet was a great competitor but I just didn't see the skills to be a solid starting QB.

I'm curious why you would say adapting elements of the Oklahoma offense must just be a ploy to keep guys around just because Threet is leaving. I didn't see the ability from Threet last year to execute the kind of plays that OK runs.

Bradford might not be a true 'dual threat' QB, but he has a much quicker release and can certainly move the pocket and complete throws while rolling out, something that Threet didn't seem to be able to do. He's also much more accurate. Barely completing 50% of your passes when half the throws were hitches or screens will not get it done. From what I hear it would seem that TF's skill set (accuracy, quick release, ability to throw on the run) would be the perfect one to utilize elements of OK's passing game. I was excited to hear from your earlier blogs that the staff had been looking to utilize some of the OK schemes and sure hope that does indeed come to fruition in the spring practices.

Certainly enjoy your insight as always.

Thanks.

Brad

Anonymous said...

I agree that the loss of experience will be felt early on, just hoping they can survive the first half of the season with a decent record. As you said, they will have a better chance at winning games at the end of the year with Forcier. Threet was a great competitor but I just didn't see the skills to be a solid starting QB.

I'm curious why you would say adapting elements of the Oklahoma offense must just be a ploy to keep guys around just because Threet is leaving. I didn't see the ability from Threet last year to execute the kind of plays that OK runs.

Bradford might not be a true 'dual threat' QB, but he has a much quicker release and can certainly move the pocket and complete throws while rolling out, something that Threet didn't seem to be able to do. He's also much more accurate. Barely completing 50% of your passes when half the throws were hitches or screens will not get it done. From what I hear it would seem that TF's skill set (accuracy, quick release, ability to throw on the run) would be the perfect one to utilize elements of OK's passing game. I was excited to hear from your earlier blogs that the staff had been looking to utilize some of the OK schemes and sure hope that does indeed come to fruition in the spring practices.

Certainly enjoy your insight as always.

Thanks.

Brad

gsimmons85 said...

Eroc and coach bt,

im being serious here now. Why not cut out all the insider stuff? i mean rumors and things fromt he insdie dont need to be heard on the outside. THe inside dealings of the program should stay in house. If you just stick to the obvious attention you give to player development and practice and stuff like that, i would read your stuff more. I like that you guys go to practices and have access to whats happening, but i say if its not public, dont print it. It does nothing but puts negatve things out there, that future recruits could pick up on. The negative recruiting you guys talk about so much, happens when other coaches can point to things like that. You could be part of the negative recruiting, and it severes NO good knowing whats happening behind closed doors.

I for one, can make my own judgments about players, about schemes etc. becasue of my many years of football experience, but i recognize that those type of things on your site could be usefull for your readers. but the "insider stuff" does nothing positive. Just becasue people wnat to know, doesnt mean you should tell them. Just becasue you have the right to print something, doesnt mean you should print.

just my opinion, do what you want...

Anonymous said...

Eroc I appreciate your dilemma and it is an intersting thought on people not wanting to hear the bad news. I for 1 would like to hear everything and I can sort it out for myself what I want to believe, because I want to know the "why" behind stories I find bizarre. I have not been around college athletics so I am not sure how things operate, but I think you would agree the whole meeting post seems a little bizarre and needs further clarification. Unless Threet is secretly a douche or his parents are lunatics there can be no upside in RR steering Threet out the door. I can't imagine after all this a player calling RR to talk and RR saying go pound it. He was here on campus and it was a dead periosd in recruiting.

GBMWolverine said...

Brad: regarding the Oklahoma offense.

Well we were told last year that the coaches were looking at the Missouri offense and how they used the tight end and never seen it on the field. Now this year we hear they want to adapt to some of the Oklahoma offense.

What we have to wonder will it happen and we will see this spring.

When it comes down to crunch time a coach goes back to what he feels more comfortable with ... every coach does it.

I think the "Oklahoma" comments has to do with the wide receivers and tight ends more than Threet.

GBMWolverine said...

gsimmons85: Well if we did that than no reason for ANYBODY to have a blog, a web page (like scout or rivals), or whatever else.

Most of the information that any "SITE" hears is hearsay. That is just the thing. Most if it isn't first hand information.

Also isn't player development and practice stuff fall into the line of "inside information" as well? or does it depend if it is good news or bad news as to what people want to hear or not to hear.

So your saying you only want to hear the "good things" ... that is fine.

So your saying that college coaches look at our little blog? WOW maybe those programs would do better if they worried about their teams and fixed those problems.

I guess the point is that I am making is that most Michigan fans do not want to hear "everything" about their team. They only want to hear the fluff of their team and not believe that players and coaches make mistakes.

While then you see these same fans make fun of other programs for information they hear about their program. Seems like the classic double-standard to me.

That is the thing for me ... I love Michigan ... and want the best for it, but does that mean I should not say everything I have heard, saw, etc ... and cover it up with "fluff" to make the readers want to come back more like other sites do because it is a business to them where this is my blog where I do not ask for money or membership for people to pay monthly.

So that is the reason I put the poll up to see what people want because right now I really wonder what people really want.

GBMWolverine said...

Anonymous: regarding the dilemma I have ...

Yes that is a the problem I have right now.

Some people want to hear everything while other do not.

Some want to believe that nothing bad happens or mistakes ever happen at their school while making fun of other programs.

Also we pointed out from the very beginning that these are our opinions and not stone cold truths.

We believe in what we write and stick behind what we write. We also believe in the people that gives us information as well.

Is it all 100% accurate ... no idea, but it is information that we have gotten and NOT ONE PERSON on any blog / website can say everything they hear is all true or point by point accurate and we state that from the beginning again this is our opinions.

There are rumors out there right now about certain players that is to sensitive to be put out there because they are still on the team. We do not put that stuff out there. We could have ran the stuff about the "pushing back the meeting" deal back in Jan, but waited to see what came from it.

We waited till he left to bring it up ... did it change his decision to leave or stay by the meeting being pushed back ... who knows ... maybe / maybe not. No one knows besides Threet and his family.

I simply put it out there.

Just as there are other things out there that have only been given a small portion of the whole story. Such as McGuff leaving ... it was not just about being closer to his family. That was a small part because there were other reasons out there.

About Hopson it was not whether or not his family liked Ann Arbor and the cold ... that was about 20% of the reason not the main reasons.

About Minor there were other things out, etc...

Unknown said...

As much as we want to know the dirt, we don't NEED to know the dirt and you shouldn't put it out there.

First off, you might think the source is 100% trustworthy, but they might have only one side of the story, or be mistaken, or have some sort of grudge they are trying to settle with you or someone in the program.

Second, once you put stuff out on the Internet, it is out of your control. You think you're just keeping Michigan fans informed, but you are giving ammunition to other coaches to use against Michigan, too.

I'm not a blind supporter that thinks 100% of everything about RichRod, or Michigan football, or the Athletic Department, or even the University as a whole is JUST GREAT, but spreading what is really just gossip isn't going to improve things. We'll go back to Fort Schembechler and your "source" might even lose his job in a bad economy.

GBMWolverine said...

Chuck: Thanks for the comments.

That is why I put up the poll to see what people really want.

Well all sites have that same deal about whether to trust their source and to put out information.

The thing is ... is it okay to put out that information if it is good news even though it comes from these same "sources" that have given me bad news?

So what do you put out there?

gsimmons85 said...

nothing from your sources....

good or bad.... it is not MEANT TO BE PUBLIC OTHERWISE IT WOULD BE!!!!!

any coach knows the importance of keeping in house things in house

Anonymous said...

The problem is, when you post these rumors (and who the hell knows where you hear this stuff..."insiders" my ass), you just get everybody's panties in a bunch for something that turns out not to be true. It's not that I don't like to hear about negative things, its just that I don't like to hear "this is what we think happened, its based of nothing really but wtf, we'll post it anyway".

Anonymous said...

Hey Eroc and Coach Bt.
I like to hear all the rumors good or bad. If some OSU coach can only cite a blog like this one, I would hope RR could easily put things straight. We're all grown men or players that are living in college alone as grown me so we can choose what we want to take from information.

Anonymous said...

People seem to forget that coaches can, and a lot times are, sources for leaks to help promote their own particular agenda, so all leaks aren't necessarily a detriment to the team.

Rumors are a fact of life. It's not good that the internet makes them more pernicious, but it also adds value to the voices that end up being the most accurate in the end.

As far "insider" talk, who's to say what's relevant and not? At one time, players' injuries were kept secret, now it's practically a crime to hide that information.

If the information has something to do with football or the team, I personally, would like to read it. That's why I read many other sources, so I can determine what's BS and what's not. As long as a rumor is clearly labeled as such, I've got no problem with it. If they end up being false too many times, I won't visit the site anymore. It's as simple as that.

Anonymous said...

I cannot believe Coach Rod could not meet with the Threet family for at least an hour. I really believe this man has some serious character issues. If he hypothetically left Michigan, the same way he left WVU, everybody in the state would hate him.
He almost told Threet to transfer by telling him he would talk to him after the signing period. What would any rational family think?

Anonymous said...

It is intersting to see all this banter about who is to blame for last years problems. Coach Rod is a disaster as a head coach of this program and his repetitive statements that he did not have the players to execute his game plans was throwing the players under the bus more than I have ever seen by a head coach. If he does not begin to show significant progress in 2009, I would hope the folks he answers to give him the same treatment he gave Steve Threet and his parents as they undertake a search for his replacement.

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