The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/798849
APRIL 2017 THE WOLVERINE 5 FROM OUR READERS • I was wrong and I admit it. I wrote this team off a few weeks back, asking if John Beilein could still get it done. After the last 24 hours this team has been through and to come out with a showing like [the Big Ten Tournament win over Illinois] on the court, I am completely on board with Beilein and his basketball program! Go Blue! bmitch2353 • Welcome to the good side. We are glad to have you. Now never write off a Beilein team again! MGO_Clayton • I was right there too after the Illinois game and the OSU game. I am happy I was wrong. Very impressed by Derrick Walton. Willpower for days. ptk1454 • At some point in late January, I declared this among my least liked U-M hoops teams ever. Happy to be wrong. And a great lesson in having some belief/giving up hope too soon. Anison • So, Michigan's plane goes off the runway yesterday. It could've been a real tragedy. For a few hours at least, people showed some perspective and were just happy everyone was all right (but that didn't last very long). There were bumps and bruises. Derrick Walton needed stitches. People who have actually been in a situation like this have said it's a traumatizing experience. Michigan had less than 24 hours to deal with this. I don't know all the logistics, but this is what I do know: — They gathered grief counselors to help the team. — They had to figure out if the team was healthy enough to play and wanted to play. — They had to figure out where they were staying last night because they were dealing w/ power outages in Ann Arbor. — They worked w/ Delta to secure a freakin' NBA plane to fly out this morning (I'm sure that takes a few phone calls). — They had to figure out their uniforms and equipment situation. — They got stuck in traffic and had to figure out if they could push the start back. My guess is Warde Manuel and crew slept about two hours last night. Lummy78 • Derrick Walton Jr., Zak Irvin and Muhammad-Ali Abdur- Rahkman set the tone and led the way throughout. That says a lot after all they've been through the last two seasons, including a plane crash. They deserve lots of respect. Maker • The turnaround of this team has been remarkable. As frustrating as they were during the middle of the season, they have been so much fun to watch the past month. They have quickly cemented themselves as one of my favorite teams. nickespitia • Anyone who says Jabrill Peppers is not a freakish athlete is plain ignorant. For a guy at his height and weight, 4.47 is a very respect- able [40-yard dash] time. Darboh's 4.45 time is good, but he has a distinct advantage with his height and longer legs and stride. Jabrill has run faster and I have no doubt he will lower his time running with the safeties. Why do you think [Usain] Bolt has the world record at 100 meters? His huge stride and longer legs are a huge advan- tage over everyone else he runs against. Jabrill is explosive and he is a freakish athlete, period, end of story. Hail Michigan • I agree somewhat. I think most thought he'd run faster, including me, who guessed 4.43. His vertical was also not THAT impressive and was, I think, third or fourth for line- backers. I think most will agree he is a freakish athlete, but is he THAT freakish? It just hasn't translated quite yet to the field. Only one pick, got stuffed quite a bit on offense when it mattered, should've returned more TDs on special teams than he actually did. But I think his best football is ahead of him just because NFL teams will put him where he belongs and the kid is so coachable. stevesf47 • It's really just people ignoring what they've seen with their own eyes in lieu of Combine numbers. Here's a guy who had 72 tackles — more solo tackles than any player on the No. 1 defense in the nation, who completely con- trolled the opposition's perimeter offense. It wasn't just a coincidence that Dalvin Cook was able to bounce so many big plays to the outside, while Saquon Barkley, Mike Weber and Corey Clement couldn't. He returned punts and kickoffs, ran plays at running back and had a team-leading 16 tackles for loss. He was second on the team with eight quarterback hurries and had four sacks on a team loaded with productive line- men. His pass rush numbers and TFL numbers were far better than Combine monster and defensive lineman Malik McDowell. Peppers is a guy fast enough to cut your athletic QB down in the open field and strong enough to bring him down with a hit that breaks his leg. Think about that. Plus his numbers weren't "empty calorie" numbers like Adoree' Jackson's — a guy who had five interceptions and played on the 65th-ranked pass defense nationally in 2016. Teams routinely moved the ball on USC through the air, and many pro scouts actually think that Jackson was the No. 2 cornerback in the USC backfield to Iman Marshall … but he runs fast. Yes, great speedster, great special teams player, but no- where near the impact defensively as Jabrill, who due to size, strength and explosiveness, as well as very good but not great speed, is the better football athlete, who put up the better overall football numbers on the far better overall defense. Yet for some, all of that is flushed down the toilet due to a 40 time. Shaking my head … buttaball From Our Website