Does anyone buy the injury excuse???

I know there were a few factors that I did not address in my rant the other day that were completely out of the coaches hands this year and I admit that I do believe those factors did have somewhat of an effect on the team, the play and the outcome of the season; namely the injuries sustained this year. I don’t think it’d be fair for me to blast the staff and at the same time not address those injuries. Given my amazing hindsight superpowers, here they are from least to most serious.


1. Russell Bellomy - In the grand scheme of it, Bellomy's injury turned out to be a non factor. For the most part DG managed to stay healthy all year minus the tail end of the O$U game and the bowl game. Sure you can argue that Devin’s injury cost us both games and I'd be inclined to agree with you (albeit not 100%). What I mean by Bellomy's injury being a non factor is that UM never had to truly rely on Shane throughout the regular season. In fact one might argue that a healthy Bellomy might have even played in OT of the O$U game or started the bowl game instead of Shane. There’s really nothing to suggest a #1 backup either way. I think we'll find as time goes on that the game experience Shane acquired during the BW3 bowl is actually going to be a huge positive for him moving forward, if not for anything more than the "confidence through experience" factor. But IMO Bellomy being out this season was NOT a factor in the team finishing the season 3-5 in B1G play and ending up in a restaurant bowl.

2. Jake Ryan - I couldn't be happier to admit that in hindsight my reaction was way overblown when I heard the news that Jake tore his ACL last year. But in my defense I can't think of a single person that didn't take that news poorly especially given the expectations we all had for him. Jake is the undisputed leader of the D and to only have his support from the sidelines was going to be a monster blow to the defense. No way in the world did I think he was going to play at all in the 2013 season let alone eight games. That said, the UM implosion happened down the stretch and not out of the gate. If anything Jake's absence gave other players a golden opportunity to get game time experience. But IMO Jake missing the first four games this season was NOT a factor in the team finishing the season 3-5 in B1G play and ending up in a restaurant bowl.

3. Amara Darboh – This one hurt more than you might think. Sure Gallon had a banner year. The best ever (statically speaking) in a few categories. And sure Funchess was great because he created match up nightmares that really did allow us to get creative at times. The problem is that Funchess was sporadic and our play calling left way too much to be desired. Fortunately Funchess is gifted enough athletically that it didn't take him long to adapt. But you have to think that Darboh was way more prepared than Funchess at WR and that could have boded well for us down the stretch especially since we sure as hell couldn’t run the ball. At the very least there is no denying that Darboh is a much bigger threat to stretch the field than Funchess and who knows what that could have done for the run game. I may be in the minority but IMO Amara Darboh missing the season WAS a factor in the team finishing the season 3-5 in B1G play and ending up in a restaurant bowl. I can’t wait to see him back next year and paired with Funchess, Harris, Canteen or whomever. I’m telling you the WR position is shaping up to be a special group in the next few years provided the line can give the QB time to allow the plays to develop and throw the ball.

4. Ondre Pipkins – Sure his Frosh year left a bit to be desired and there is nothing really to suggest that Pip was turning into a solid run stopper or a pocket collapser. But given the way Mattison liked to rotate guys in and out of that line you would have to assume that it would account for a lot of experience for him if not this year then definitely next. I say that because with QW leaving this year you have to assume Pip is the  starter next year and it would have been nice to see Pipkins get that much more time to play and see the characteristics of the teams he’ll be playing again next year. I believe I read that he played just shy of 40% of the snaps this season so a medical redshirt is most likely out of the question so there can be no mulligan here and that is why I put him so high up the list. I guess that doesn’t take away from that the UM implosion happened down the stretch and not out of the gate. The final assessment is that IMO Ondre Pipkins only playing sparingly in the first five games this season was NOT a factor in the team finishing the season 3-5 in B1G play and ending up in a restaurant bowl.


5. Drake Johnson – IMO this was the worst of them all. Sure you can argue that Adrian Peterson wouldn’t have been effective given the poor O line play and the even worse play calling. But go back and read for yourself (I’m too lazy to find the posts and point you to them) but I’ve stated several times that I think Drake Johnson is a true diamond in the rough. Since the day we got this kid I felt like he was one of the staff’s biggest steals as far as talent and ceiling are concerned. By all accounts he was primed to seriously challenge Fitz and be the #1 guy going into the season. Not too bad for a kid with next to zero experience (especially considering Fitz’ resume at the time). Serious depth at RB could have been a game changer early on. I don’t mean an overweight Green, a true frosh Smith and a Rawls and Hayes that seemed destined to never see the field. I mean a serious one-two punch. Fitz and Johnson could have been that for us. By all accounts Johnson is bigger, he’s faster and has better vision than Fitz and who knows how that could have worked out especially since every other article you read was that a simple arm tackle wasn’t going to cut it with him (unlike Fitz).. Again, I just don’t know how effective he could have been behind that line but you gotta at least feel like this was truly our most damaging injury of the year. Like I stated, at times I felt as if AP couldn’t have been successful but maybe I just can’t get past all of the excitement I had for this kid. That’s why IMO Drake Johnson’s injury WAS a factor in the team finishing the season 3-5 in B1G play and ending up in a restaurant bowl.

Discuss!!!

Sandy...I do remember your endless posts about Drake...LOL Just kidding. From the little I saw, I would have loved to have seen him out there every game!! I don't know how serious his injury is, so hopefully he can come back 110% next year. I'm still not sold on Green. I think Smith is pretty solid, so if they are all looked at equally I see it as being Drake, with Smith very close behind and then Smith. IMO!

Go Blue!!

Regardless of injuries this team should have won at least 9 games this past season. I also believe that it falls mostly on the coaching staff.

umichfaninpa wrote:

Regardless of injuries this team should have won at least 9 games this past season.  I also believe that it falls mostly on the coaching staff.

yep I feel the same way. I just like playing devil's advocate to try to get some intellectual debate going. sad thing is that we won 8, should have been 10 but could have been 5. Ugh!

Of the 5 injuries you mentioned i only see 1 that had any effect. That would be Pipkins, Ryan was back in time Funchess got to be a wide oit while Dabarh was healing. I still think we should have won the PSU and Iowa game no excuse for those 2 and maybe Nebraska too.

I think we had fewer injuries than average. To me the only big one was Gardner because we would have had a better chance to beat KState with him (although may have still lost given that we could not stop them).

'shoes

PSU, NEB, IOWA should have been wins regardless...OSU..???? The ENTIRE season of failure is on the coaching staff, with most of that blame being on Borg-ass!! He has been at UM basically three years now and we are STILL waiting for him to adjust the O to match the opponents half time adjustments!!

Go Blue!!

Yep, even if these players were healthy all season, the results would be the same.

EJinGA wrote:

Yep, even if these players were healthy all season, the results would be the same.

I just can't help but think we could have either won a game or two more with Johnson and Darboh healthy or at the very least we wouldn't have looked terrible against Akron and UConn and who knows what that could have done for the swagger and confidence of the team.

sandyeggo_blue wrote:

EJinGA wrote:

Yep, even if these players were healthy all season, the results would be the same.

I just can't help but think we could have either won a game or two more with Johnson and Darboh healthy or at the very least we wouldn't have looked terrible against Akron and UConn and who knows what that could have done for the swagger and confidence of the team.

I know what you are saying... The problem is not with the players... It's with the coaching... Not that I need to tell you that. Peppers will be a nice addition, but unless the coaches up their game, he will not make this team win more games.

Until the coaching staff changes/improves, I don't see the team being better. Hoke got an 'upgraded' roster this year (from the year before), and the results were the same...

I do want to see Darboh next season. He was one of the kids I looked forward to seeing the most.

EJinGA wrote:

sandyeggo_blue wrote:

EJinGA wrote:

Yep, even if these players were healthy all season, the results would be the same.

I just can't help but think we could have either won a game or two more with Johnson and Darboh healthy or at the very least we wouldn't have looked terrible against Akron and UConn and who knows what that could have done for the swagger and confidence of the team.

I know what you are saying... The problem is not with the players... It's with the coaching... Not that I need to tell you that. Peppers will be a nice addition, but unless the coaches up their game, he will not make this team win more games.

Until the coaching staff changes/improves, I don't see the team being better. Hoke got an 'upgraded' roster this year (from the year before), and the results were the same...

I do want to see Darboh next season. He was one of the kids I looked forward to seeing the most.

yep I think the consensus is that the miserable season was more on the coaches than anything but if you have the right players you don't really need that great of a coach. For example, there is no denying that Urban is a good coach but his teams at Florida fell into mediocrity when he lost his good players. The only difference is that he wasn't stubborn, he knew when to make up an excuse about his health and bow out with his coaching reputation in tact.

So to touch on what you said, you are right that a player like Peppers will be a much needed addition and will hopefully make up for any poor coaching by the staff. What I mean by that is that certain players have a knack for the ball and no matter where they are put on the field they will have an impact. I think I said that right