Football

Jonathan Epstein

 

 

Threet or Sheridan? Another question in the long line of inquiries that Rich Rodriguez has had to field since his arrival in Ann Arbor.

After Nick Sheridan led the Michigan Wolverines to their first win in 6 weeks, he went from the guy that people had no faith in just a week ago to the guy that people now deem the best quarterback that Rich Rodriguez has.  Sure, Nick Sheridan played a great game on Saturday; and his passion for Michigan as well as the physical and mental toughness that we so often heard about in spring was finally shown on the field.  

However, people should take note of several things before making a conclusion on who the starter should be this week against Northwestern. The first (and probably most important thing to recognize) is that Steven Threet played just as well, if not better than Nick Sheridan, when he was the starter just a week ago against Purdue. Threet threw for two touchdowns, and, like Sheridan, committed zero turnovers. The undeniable progress of the other Wolverines’ grasp of the spread is what fans must not overlook. Moreover, you can only look at what Threet has done over the last few weeks if you are really going to compare him with Sheridan.

If you watched the game this past week, as well as the Purdue game the week before, you notice the drastic improvement in the teams grasp of Rich Rod’s complicated spread offense. The blocking has been night and day to what it was when Threet first took over this team; both with the wide receivers as well as on the line. And as you will soon find out, the blocking on the outside could very well be the most important aspect of this offense, as bubble screens and short passes alike are major components in a successful spread.

Bubble screens are not hard throws for quarterbacks to make, and the objective of them is to get your playmakers the ball quickly and let them do what they do best: make plays. The last two weeks we have seen the blocking finally begin to look like it should, and the results have been 45 points and 29 (while it could have been much more had it not been for several stalls in the red-zone). They are starting to get it, and the quarterbacks have looked much better in recent weeks because of it. Sheridan may have been good this last week, but Threet has been just as good as of late, and he was even better on the road at Notre Dame when not a single person on this team understood what they were doing yet.

I said earlier to only compare Threet in the last two weeks to Sheridan this week, but it is a major plus that Threet was able to perform the way he did in a huge rivalry game on the road when everyone was still trying to understand what Rich Rod wanted. I would say Sheridan has one distinct advantage over Threet; that is, the ability to throw on the run. You saw it several times Saturday, and it was certainly impressive when Sheridan was able to outrun several rushes and gun it while he was running for his life.

Still, do not do what many fan bases are so prone to doing in football, be it college or professional: give the backup too much praise while not giving the starter enough credit when it is deserved. Just make sure you remember the performance Threet had against Notre Dame in the pouring rain. Make sure you don’t forget the Illinois game, when Threet again threw for two touchdowns against zero interceptions. And lastly, don’t forget the day Threet had last Saturday at Purdue, when he should have gotten a win had it not been for the defense’s pathetic performance. 

Of course you can think twice about who the starter shoud be, but in my opinion Threet is still the guy who deserves the nod this weekend against Northwestern. In a season full of heavy scrutiny from the fan base, missed blocks, and lack of execution, Threet has continued to improve, and an injury should not be the cause of him losing his starting spot.