The Question:
Taking an old question in reverse: Choose one current Michigan player whom you'd like to take back in time and have him play for a former team?
-----------------------------
The Responses:
David: I think I would put Zach Werenski onto the 2010-11 Michigan Hockey team.
After Brandon Burlon's injury before the tournament run, freshman Kevin Clare was pushed into Michigan's 3rd defensive pairing...which ended up turning into playing mostly just five defensemen. After the Tiny Jesus show against North Dakota in the National Semifinal -where Hunwick made a whopping 40 saves- Michigan was just gassed going into the Title Game. It showed as M took twice as many penalties as Duluth did. Hunwick played amazing again, but the team was chasing play most of the time. If you put another NHL first round defenseman on that team and Clare isn't forced into action that might have been a little above his head -or if thy could have rotated through 6 blue-liners more confidently (Clare did have 2 of M's penalties)- Michigan might have been able to stay out of the box more and conserved energy, etc, etc. Not to mention adding Werenski's offensive prowess...he already has 4-8-12 in half a year, this year. Would it be a slam dunk? I don't know...but I would take another shot at that game if I could get it...
Option #2 (if its allowed): Trading Senior LeVert for Freshman LeVert in 2012-13.
Option #3: Adding Peppers/Lewis to the '06 football team...but would either of them (or anyone, for that matter) keep their feet on that hideous Columbus sod??
-----------------------------
[After THE JUMP: we debate which team would most benefit from #HoverPeppers]
Seth: I'm taking Lewis and I'm putting him on the 2000 team. I thought about '99 because if you give them someone to match up with Plaxico Burress and not let [edited] Kurt Kittner get just enough that team is in the national championship vs Florida State. But Tom Brady's Orange Bowl season is worth preserving.
The next year however could have been a national championship team too. We lost to UCLA when Henson was hurt, let Drew Brees come back, and of course couldn't stop Northwestern's spread. Among my friends the former two of those losses solidified our opinion that Whitley was at fault.
This was 3rd and 5. Whitley overran, slid right by, and M gave up a TD.
In the last, Michigan actually got a few stops when they went to a three-man front and ran something very close to Bo's old 5-2. However, as we learned since, Carr and his staff didn't want to stick with that alignment because it was putting too much pressure on one cornerback in particular (not Todd Howard, who had a great game).
Trade Jourdan Lewis for James Whitley, and Michigan wins two and perhaps all three of those games, makes some of the others not even close, and then we get to see what that OL, Terrell, Walker, A-Train, and Drew can do against Oklahoma.
 |
| Like this except taller. [Proto Robinson photo by Eric Upchurch] |
-----------------------------
Brian: I kind of want to put Duncan Robinson on the national title game team, just to see what happens. Does Kenpom's computer explode? Do people playing the "not just a shooter" drinking game die en masse? Does Michigan shoot 50% from three for an entire year?
Ace: Damn, you beat me to that pick. I blame Kareem Walker.
Brian: You did not attack this TWO with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind and have only yourself to blame.
Ace: Fair. Skipped my glass of whole milk this morning.
-----------------------------
Adam: Breaking Kenpom's computer has high entertainment value, but I'd take Jarrod Wilson and put him on the 2009 team. Mike Williams struggled in a way few have during Michigan's late-season slide; he posted negative total UFR numbers against six teams that season, including -6 vs. Iowa, -12 vs. Illinois, -4 vs. Penn State, and -2 in that miserable loss to Purdue. This wouldn't mitigate the garbage tornado of non-football issues swirling outside Schembechler Hall, but having a wonderfully boring free safety would have definitely gotten Michigan the win they needed for bowl eligibility, and possibly one or two more. I'm pretty sure a few extra wins in '09 drastically alters what happened from 2010-2014.
Seth: Until GERG makes him a Spur. I mean he had boring safety Thomas Gordon on that team.
David: But as a true freshman
Adam: I'm trying to fix things, man. I thought we got to slot guys in where we wanted. I don't want to leave Wilson's fate up to the guy who watched Cissoko get burned over and over and over and was like "meh, he'll be fine."
Ace: The bigger question is: why, exactly, are we trying to salvage the 2009 team?
Seth: That’s easy: Brandon Graham. If Michigan ever gave that guy like 1.2 seconds of coverage to get to the quarterback instead of 0.2...
Ace: No one man has all that power.
David: There is a great video of him rushing the court and jumping around after we beat Duke in 2008
Ace: …maybe they go 7-5?
-----------------------------
(still Ace): Anyway, my choice is to take Jabrill Peppers and deploy him as a spread-killer in 2007, which I seem to remember being foiled by the spread but for some reason my brain is blocking out any further details.
BiSB: Jabrill against Troy Smith would have been nice.
Ace: Who? (But, yeah, at the very least that should prevent The Horror.)
David: Would any defender have been able to keep their feet on that grass?
BiSB: Jabrill hovers.
Ace:
BisB: True, but '07 was destined to be meh. He could've made the difference in '06.
Ace: Very true. Answer amended to 2006. Hopefully he decides to come back to school in 2007.
Seth: Nah, they win the National Championship in '06, Carr retires as planned, everyone heads to the NFL, Michigan hires the best available option which is probably that dour guy at Cincinnati whose name is apparently as hard to spell as Cincinnati, and that guy gets buried under the negative press of transfers and misbehaving players and a B.S. practice time scandal that wasn't really his fault. Marv Dantonio washes out at Michigan in 2009 and is remembered as football's Ellerbe.
Ace: *D'Antoni
-----------------------------
Adam: Transitioning from Bizarro World but sticking with the topic of 2009, I want to fix that team because if that season goes differently I think Rodriguez's tenure does as well (assuming he gets rid of GERG), and I just want to see the offense that S&P and FEI loved so much with a pretty good defense. Long story short I'm re-reading Three and Out and I'm mad and what better place to be mad than the Internet. Then again, this Harbaugh thing does seem to be working out pretty well.