Thought this might be interesting!!!
Thought this might be interesting!!!
DREW SHARP: Navarre still the key at U-M
August 27, 2002
BY DREW SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Three words instantly shorten everyone's breathing in this area.
Just say "West Coast offense."
Oh, no, where are the oxygen masks?
John Navarre prefers to call it an "attacking offense." The oft-criticized Michigan quarterback is strangely calm as he approaches the next most important game in his career, Saturday's opener against Washington. He's comfortable with his new offensive coordinator, with his quarterbacks coach and with an offensive scheme that's not entirely new.
"You're going to see us passing more on first down," said Navarre, a junior. "There are going to be more short passes and spreading around the ball to take advantage of the options that we have. We want to put the ball in our playmakers' hands and let them make plays."
Sounds like a form of, dare I say, West Coast offense.
"It may sound like it, but you can call it any number of things," Navarre said. "We're not calling it that. We're just looking at it as creating an offense that doesn't come across as predictable as some might have thought in the past."
You mean no more off tackle left on first down and off tackle right on second down? That's sacrilege.
But before the hard-line Blues turn blue in the face, understand that nothing is really changing with the Michigan offensive philosophy. Objective No. 1 will be and always will be establishing a physical presence on the line of scrimmage. The inability to run the ball is like a slap in the Wolverines' faces.
When Michigan suffered a collapse late last season, it was stung mostly by a lack of toughness. The Wolverines will lose some, but rarely are they easily pushed around as they were in season-ending losses to Ohio State and Tennessee.
And the kid pushed around the most was Navarre.
His confidence was shattered. He turned tentative, which for opposing defenses is the equivalent of a shark smelling blood in the water. The conservative play-calling left him vulnerable in long-yardage situations with a shaky offensive line. When Navarre wasn't picking himself up from the turf after getting sacked, he was getting picked off -- throwing more interceptions (nine) than touchdowns (eight) in the season's final five games.
Navarre's mental toughness was questioned. Was he up to the task of satisfying 107,000 critics at each Saturday home game?
He was neither stunned nor ecstatic when Lloyd Carr officially named him the starter late last week. Carr's hesitancy created the impression that Navarre's standing was tenuous. But he wasn't fooling anyone. There was no air of controversy, not even a tinge of debate over whether Spencer Britton should start. Experience matters even more in college than it does in the NFL, and regardless of whatever difficulties Navarre endured last season, at least he can draw upon that expertise.
He had two choices: Surrender or fight back.
"There were a lot of opportunities for John to re-evaluate himself," Carr said. "I don't know if there was a certain moment when he made the commitment, but it was evident when he came back. You could see that commitment. John's a very bright guy."
Bright enough to know that a quarterback is only as effective as his surrounding talent. How good did Az-Zahir Hakim and Bill Schroeder make Mike McMahon look with those drops Saturday in the Lions' debut at Ford Field?
The offensive line in front of Navarre should be better if only because it has gotten a year of cohesiveness. But where are the playmakers? Where's the speed in the backfield? There's some exciting potential among the incoming receivers, but how much trust can you place in freshmen?
"Good quarterbacks aren't everything to the success of a team," Navarre said. "We can make the plays that we're supposed to make, hit the open receivers, keep the defenses off balance and give up the ball and still lose the game. Does that mean the quarterback played well anyway? No, it doesn't because the bottom line is what this entire team does is winning the game. And the quarterback is but one piece of that puzzle."
But it remains the biggest and most heavily scrutinized piece. Navarre might not win games, but he can't crumble from the strain and lose them. He seems to have a stronger grip on what he expects of himself and his teammates, establishing that bond of trust that makes or breaks an offense.
"I'm ready to get started," said Navarre, who will start his third straight season opener. "I'm looking forward to see what our offense can accomplish."
Whatever you choose to call it.
