Spring game preview.

http://www.michigandaily.com/sports/five-things-watch-saturdays-spring-game?page=0,0

And another one:

http://www.michigandaily.com/sports/spring-game-breakdown-defense-and-special-teams

And yet another:

http://www.michigandaily.com/sports/michigan-enters-spring-game-sense-stability

And finally, an offense preview:

http://www.michigandaily.com/node/66547

One of those threads, 2nd, had "Gallon is the primary punt returner, with Blake Countess the most viable option as backup."

Here's HOPING Jeremy locks down, and holds down, the spot all frickin' season. We can't afford to lose our best coverman on a punt return.

Need to get Justice involved. I would think he would be a viable option in the return game.

michmike wrote:

One of those threads, 2nd, had "Gallon is the primary punt returner, with Blake Countess the most viable option as backup."

Here's HOPING Jeremy locks down, and holds down, the spot all frickin' season. We can't afford to lose our best coverman on a punt return.

No one ever complained when Charles was returning punts. These are well conditioned athletes, if the best guy for one job just happens to be the best guy for another job, he should be able to do both.

You can't worry so much about injuries. I think the 5 man rotation and pitch counts are hurting pitchers these days more than helping them. Never used to worry about a guy going 9 and doing it again 4 days later. These guys never get a chance to strengthen their arm.

I get your point about double-duty as Woodson was able to do it, Fish, but you used a bad, or at least questionable, analogy with pitchers.

"Strength" per se is of little revelance when one discusses a pitcher's arm (or anyone's throwing arm). The stamina of the other bodyparts necessary for pitching (back, legs, stomach muscles) can perhaps be "strengthened" by added work and less rest, but not the arm. Not as a tool of throwing. I can still recall how 3/4 of the guys on my high school team my senior year, many of them also starters on teams in other sports, could easily manhandle me in arm-wrestling, weights, etc...but I could, for both distance and velocity, outthrow every one of them. It's a totally different thing, as my short-term U-M coach (Benedict) also emphasized; throwing "strength" is more a matter of elasticity of tendons and fluidity of joints and ligaments...as opposed to the sheer power imparted by muscles.

Sorry for the long (and OT) rambling...but you "hit a nerve", of sorts. Back to football, yes, many of these excellently-conditioned young athletes can do double-duty. My point is that, unless you're talking a once-in-a-generation superstar, a'la CW, who was a legit. threat to go the distance with any kick he returned,
as opposed to merely providing a serviceable return into acceptable field position, I get leery about increasing
the odds (by increasing the number of tackles he takes) of injury by adding to the job-plate of our best player at any vital position (e.g., corner).

I tried to go with the pitching thing because I knew your history, and I knew you would be able to provide some education.

I guess the word "strengthen" was the wrong choice of words. I just think that coaches in all sports these days treat players like they are made of china, and are too afraid of injury. I think, especially in D1 and Professional sports, the pressure to win is so huge, and if a player does get hurt doing something outside the box, for lack of a better term, the coach is beat up so bad in the media, and risks losing his million+ dollar a year job.

Look at Jim Leyland for example. The Tigers are 5-1. No starter has recorded a win yet and some "fans" are pissed at him for that. Opening day Verlander is pitching a gem, but has 105 pitches, so JL goes to his closer, Valverde, who was perfect last season and he blows the save, but the Tigers get the win in the bottom of the 9th. Fans are wanting Jim's head for pulling JV. Then two days ago JV is pitching another gem and enters the 9th with a 1 hitter and a 2 run lead and only aournd 80 pitches thrown, and all of a sudden can't get anyone out, so JL goes to the bullpen, and the fans are wanting his head because he let JV enter the 9th. Crazy. I know I ventured off topic, sorry.

What about Norfleet? Or is he more of a kickoff returner? Or is he not mentioned because he's not on campus?

Hey BTW, THANKS all of you guys for posting these here. I've been too busy to mess with the forum too much. I'll read all of these tonight or tomorrow while watching it.

(Re: Fish's scenario on Tiger manager Leyland's conundrum):

I wasn't aware of any of that, not following MLB much (at this time of the season). But it goes to show what a large percentage of "fans" are playing with less than a full deck... One minute they want JL's head for pulling JV, the next, for doing the opposite. How's that expression go, "Damned if I do, ..."

In lots of situations, I agree with your point that coaches and managers go overboard in protecting, even coddling, their star athletes. Not only can it hurt the team in terms of not having your best player at the
given position out there to help win at the crucial points of the game, but wouldn't you think it sends yet
another variation of the "primadonna" signal to the "lesser" teammates? And we all know how destructive
that can be.

These "pitch count" restrictions which didn't exist 20 years ago in MLB are the most obvious of the
"overprotection" factors; you don't see things like that with NFL quarterbacks, NBA players, or even
hockey players.

Then again---and excuse me for bringing "personal history" as you call it into this---it is a fact that there
is nothing in all of sports as tenuous as a pitcher's arm. Particularly a starting pitcher. Even the greatest
freak of nature (IMHO) in all of sports history---Nolan Ryan---couldn't go for at least three days after a
starting assignment; the swelling, inflammation, etc. in the human components of the arm simply cannot
function until self-rectifying those factors.