Michigan Football, Team 138, 2017 Season.

[Kstat]

I just want to make the playoffs first. We aren't even going to do that with what we have right now. We won't even sniff the B1G title game.

There's no hope for next year. It'll be more of the same. Top 10 team that won't beat good teams on the road. Just pray that the McCaffery kid is some kind of phenom that competes for a job in 2018. Maybe we land the Harris kid and he turns out to be the next Leonard Fournette that can carry an offense by himself and Speight never sees a blitz all season. That's a pipe dream though.

Is the Peters kid even supposed to be any good? No one seemed to mention him in the recruiting thread as anything more than just another guy. Doubt Harbaugh allows him to challenge Speight as a redshirt frosh.

[SeattleLionsFan]

Wow kstat, you are really strident.

[Kstat]

I like Speight. Seems like a good kid, hard worker. It isn't fault that he wasn't born with better natural ability. I'm less tolerant of people that think he's destined for the NFL draft because he plays for Michigan. It's the same people that were shits and giggles over our offense because we were dropping 50 on tomato cans despite looking sloppy and inefficient.

I said during the Maryland game that we wouldn't move the ball like that against better teams playing that way and the resident homers went apeshit. Now the same homers are defending Speight despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary because we have no viable alternative for next season and blind hope is better than no hope at all.

[WingsFan]

He is a good kid and he will definitely be the starter vs FL @ Jerrys place. That is almost certainly a L unless he really improves in the offseason and plays better on the road. Not going to have the great defense to have his back like 2015.

[WM Wolverine]

With an offensive line that isn't a sieve (and in turn doesn't get him hurt), Speight gets us in the CFP.

It's really difficult to find receivers when the defense only rushes four, puts seven into coverage yet gets instant pressure; that happened all game vs Florida State, at Iowa and at times vs OSU. The failings of the offense ime fall mostly on an abysmal offensive line.

[Kstat]

A real QB doesn't need excuses. Yes he was under pressure a lot. So was every QB that played against us this season. So was Connor cook when he came in with Swiss cheese protecting him and ripped us with deep balls.

If Speight needs things to be perfect for him to play well then he should have gone to Alabama. He had a defense that got him the ball back over and over and over and got him consistently good field position.

100 other QBs would have killed to be where Speight was last season. He was under zero pressure whatsoever to carry the team. All he had to do was manage the game and he couldn't do it.

[hack]

"Strident" is nice and diplomatic. Kstat gets himself in trouble with extreme statements.

[Hannibal]

I like Speight. But Kstat is right that we will never go anywhere with him. He's got two years left and if you thought our O-line had some issues blocking this year, sweet Jesus, wait until you see 2017 and 2018. I strongly suspected back when he was announced as the starter for the year that it meant we were pretty much screwed for this year, and we were.

The "game manager", by-and-large, is an obsolete concept. Prolific offenses that average 450+ yards and/or 40 points per game are so common now that you can't expect to win a championship unless your QB adds value instead of just not losing the game. Completion percentages are way up from where they were 20-30 years ago and that is with guys who can also run for 800+ yards in a season.

[Kstat]

We're were really close to going 12-0 last season. Really close. One extra scoring drive in the iowa game and one less crushing INT in Columbus and we take the B1G easily. Speight didn't even have to be good to get us to the playoff. He just had to not be terrible. That's the depressing part. The defense was that good. Our offense murdered them more than any other team's offense did.

The defense will probably be really good again next year, but it won't be 2016. Teams will actually challenge us defensively. Speight will have to make plays more often. He's going to throw a lot of picks. It's going to be brutal. I'm not sure he will last the season, even if he stays healthy.

[Wellington_beefhouser]

Speight will be better in 2017 than he was in 2016 cause...you know...Harbaugh and stuff. Speight is more elusive and slick than he looks. I'd like to see more quick stuff to take some pressure off of the OL and QB. Throw some outs, slants, and screens. Speight did well against FSU when he quit trying to finesse the shit out of the ball and just get the fucking thing to the receiver. What really worries me are the easy throws he completely missed. Again, he got better in the 4th when he was zinging the ball in there. As for future QB play, McCaffrey is gonna be a stud. Count on it.

Michigan will challenge for a B1G title every year as long as Harbaugh is the coach. Harbaugh's track record says so.

[Kstat]

Speight's super-slow release doesn't mesh well with quick throws. Easy for linemen to get hands in the way.

[Whitley]

Until that O-Line can improve by leaps and bounds it really doesn't matter who the QB is. Setting that aside for a moment.

WS is the starting QB going into next season. He will have a year of starting experience under his belt (huge). He already has shown that he is: 1) a hard worker, 2) able to move around in the pocket when the entire thing is no collapsing on him, 3) at times a really good deep ball touch

The stuff is there for a really good QB. You can get to the CFP with him. Can you win it? That is all about matchups.

[hack]

WS is the starting QB going into next season.

I am not convinced of that. I think it'll take a lot to unseat him, but it's not out of the question.

[Kstat]

I think he's a lock to start the season but after the 3rd or 4th pick against Florida Harbaugh will have to think about it.

[Rocky Bleier]

If he hasn't already been forced to replace him due to the broken collarbone on the 6th or 7th sack.

Seriously, we'll get the full measure of Speight on October 21st at Pedophile State University.