“Too many guys think they are Aaron Donald”

[Cowbell Man]

I believe Mike Morris UM DE hovers close to 300 lbs.

Turn your belief into knowledge. He’s 299. That’s an aberration for a DE, but he was also fast.

Still the whole quote is odd. Like it’s a sudden realization to CJF that you can’t be 265 at DT in the Big 10. Then he seems to stab at someone, likely Beamon but could be others. The statement has no solution either. Not meaning he should have offered one, but there simply isn’t one to deploy right now. And recruiting is the source of the pain anyway, so….
Not to mention if someone isn’t following a plan, why are they playing?

As to Carter not playing enough. Could move Jacobs back to the other side where he excelled last year and get both on the field at the same time. It sacrifices depth for the next unit….which could be problematic. I sure would like to see them together tho.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Turn your belief into knowledge. He’s 299. That’s an aberration for a DE, but he was also fast.

Still the whole quote is odd. Like it’s a sudden realization that you can’t be 265 at DT in the Big 10. Then it seems stab at someone, likely Beamon. The statement has no solution either. Not meaning he should have offered one, but there simply isn’t one to deploy right now. And recruiting is the source of the pain anyway, so…..
Not to mention if someone isn’t following a plan, why are they playing?

As to Carter not playing enough. Could move Jacobs back to the other side where he excelled last year and get both on the field at the same time. It sacrifices depth for the next unit….which could be problematic. I sure would like to see them together tho.

Yeppers. Exactly my point, only more eloquently stated.

 

[Parkerdam555]

Maybe Beamon should be playing DE at that weight and with his quickness? Just a thought.

Been saying this for 2 years.

 

[Cowbell Man]

Been saying this for 2 years.

Lots have that idea.

and it furthers the lack of depth at DT. There is an issue.

 

[junior1]

Agreed Rip, but it was a really, really, really bad game!

and that doesn't describe how really bad it was

 

[m.knox]

“And there is only one Aaron Donald” Or so says. Arch Franklin. An interesting comment requiring clarification as to what he meant. Have to assume the d linemen think they can copy Donald’s style and be successful.

Well, it’s the coaching staff’s job to teach them proper technique that is successful for them. And if players don’t learn or ignore their coaching they should be benched and play kids that accept coaching, learn, and follow instructions. Even if you bench a more talented player it necessary and the player will get the message as will,others. Pretty simple.

And the players themselves should be smart enough to improvise and adapt within a game. Try different things. Mix it up. See what works for a particular opponent.

I played D end at a small school back in the dinosaur years. ......Fred Flintstone was our fullback and Nernst Rubble a slot receiver! Anyway.......I was 5’ 10” and 172 lbs. Played against a lot of guys 30-40 lbs heavier and taller. But could always figure out a way to play them. Used quickness, technique, and angles. Once played against a TE that made all state as a junior. Was 6’3” about 230, no fat. Figured I could be quicker......on first play he fired out and drove me eight yards off the ball on a power sweep. Next play I tried to shot a gap and he drove me four yards sideways. I quickly realized I needed to do something or otherwise it would a long night.

Fourth play, I submarined car walking on my toes and hands into his feet fast as I could, got under him, and reached out to make a tackle. Next play, did the same and forced the running back back to go wider so linebacker made the tackle. Kept tying up the TE so he couldn’t go out on pass routes. I did make many tackles but he did have a stellar game.

Same here with Mich. Our d line was getting pushed straight back the whole game. They kept going chest to chest or shoulder to shoulder when they should have dropped down low into the lineman’s legs, tied up the lineman and allowed the LBs to roam the field. Keep the gains much shorter and force some errors.

172 LB D lineman was pretty good back in the day...... We didn't run much bigger.

 

[Wallace Breen]

Was thinking about this BS quote too. It is a square shot at Beamon. He is playing at DL at 265. It ain't PJ at 315. Ridiculous to blame the kid when you recruited him, coached him and started him.

Franklin has a long history of passive aggressively calling out players during press conferences rather than acknowledging his failures. He is the lest accountable head coach I have ever seen in the Big Ten.

 

[Wallace Breen]

It's up there, but I'm not sure it makes the top 5. Some candidates are 1979 Nebraska, 1983 Nebraska, 1984 Notre Dame, 1987 Syracuse, 1992 Stanford, 1996 Ohio State, 1997 Michigan, 1997 Michigan State, 1998 Michigan, 2000 Ohio State, 2016 Michigan, 2018 Michigan. Also the Michigan shutout losses 27-0 and 20-0.

My top 5 is probably more like this:

#1 - 1997 Michigan - The Big Hit, Pre-Season #1 just thoroughly demolished
#2 - 1983 Nebraska - Defending national champs dethroned in first game
#3 - 1997 Michigan State - (allowed 2 200-yard rushers)
#4 - 1996 Ohio State - what turned out to be a good team just dominated up front
#5 - 2000 Ohio State - thoroughly dominated and one our top freshman has his football career ended

We have a tendency not to match up with Michigan well, especially in games played there. I'm not sure this loss stands out much worse than any of the other bad losses for me. At least we scored in the first half. They didn't punt, though. Not sure I remember that happening before.

I did not see the 83 Nebraska game but I can think of five games during the Franklin Era alone worse than those.

 

[Wallace Breen]

Turn your belief into knowledge. He’s 299. That’s an aberration for a DE, but he was also fast.

Still the whole quote is odd. Like it’s a sudden realization to CJF that you can’t be 265 at DT in the Big 10. Then he seems to stab at someone, likely Beamon but could be others. The statement has no solution either. Not meaning he should have offered one, but there simply isn’t one to deploy right now. And recruiting is the source of the pain anyway, so….
Not to mention if someone isn’t following a plan, why are they playing?

As to Carter not playing enough. Could move Jacobs back to the other side where he excelled last year and get both on the field at the same time. It sacrifices depth for the next unit….which could be problematic. I sure would like to see them together tho.

Franklin insists on an even front defense when we have odd front talent. Any reasonable person would see it. Now, we do have a talent deficiency in the front seven as we have almost every year since O'Brien's (and Paterno's) Lions graduated and moved on because we don't recruit many positions well but it doesn't have to be this bad. Ellies and Izzard played the run very well in PJ's absence last year. Both project to odd front ends quite nicely. How about we play to our strengths for once? Well, that won't happen under Franklin. Here is hoping that Kraft has a clue and does what Franklin won't and fires Diaz, Yurcich and a couple of underperforming position coaches and brings in pragmatic coaches that will install systems our players can actually succeed in. Sandy stepped up and fired Donovan because Franklin wouldn't. He clearly needs help. Kraft should provide it.

 

[m.knox]

Franklin has a long history of passive aggressively calling out players during press conferences rather than acknowledging his failures. He is the lest accountable head coach I have ever seen in the Big Ten.

Perfect example was when he said, "the plays work better with better players."

That had to be 6 or 7 years ago. Still pisses me off. Not only is it passive aggressive, but it messages that developing players is not a priority. The fact that he puts so much effort into recruiting kind of sort of supports that premise.

 

[MacNit07]

Franklin has a long history of passive aggressively calling out players during press conferences rather than acknowledging his failures. He is the lest accountable head coach I have ever seen in the Big Ten.

It’s not a good look for him.

And may help lead to the collapses we see every year. Who wants to play hard when your coach throws you under the bus?!

And whose idea was it to recruit and play undersized DTacked? Beamon’s?

Time for a take charge leader.

 

[Gitzit]

Didn't Franklin just bring two Aaron Donald size DT. Durant and forget the other.