Brady isn't the problem - it's much worse

Does it really matter who plays quarterback anymore? At this point, there are so many problems, Donovan McNabb might not be able to win with this team.

Brady should feel cheated - by his coach, and by the fans. Even if Henson deserves to play, Carr's (mis)handling of the quarterback situation has put Brady in an impossible position. How can he lead this team when his own coach announces to the whole world that he's only the second-most talented quarterback on the team? Brady won't admit it - he said "It shouldn't make a difference," - but in all honesty, how can Carr expect Brady to direct his teammates when he can't even count on his own coach for a vote of confidence?

Jim Rose Rose Beef

And even if Brady makes mistakes - which he has, and he's the first to admit it - there's no reason for him to be booed at this point in the season. He's done an admirable job with a team that has otherwise been largely inept.

But again, this comes back to Carr's statements. The fans have listened to Carr. They've heard him say that Henson is the most talented, that Henson deserves to play. So naturally, when Brady makes his first mistake, those same fans want to see Henson in the game. And why not? How can you blame them, really? What do they know about the situation except what Carr tells them?

Naturally, Carr is saying now that there is no quarterback controversy, and that his plan all along has been to play both quarterbacks. And maybe, in his mind, there really is no controversy. But because of what he's said, the fans think one exists. Carr's fault. Plain and simple.

Having said all that, it's becoming more and more apparent that the quarterback situation, while attention-grabbing, is really one of Michigan's smallest problems. Brady, Henson, whoever - the quarterbacks have been pretty much OK. The rest of the team is worth worrying about.

The Wolverines have been embarrassed two weeks in a row by option offenses. But they haven't shown any improvement. They still talk about the option like it's some kind of modern miracle that can't be stopped.

WARREN ZINN/Daily Donovan McNabb did it all against the Wolverines, running and passing his way to 293 total yards and four touchdowns.

Well, Michigan State - a team that gave up 71 points in its first two games - shut down Notre Dame's option this weekend with relative ease. The option can be stopped. Just not by bad defenses.

Last year, Michigan's defense was fast. It was hungry. It was aggressive. This year, the hard truth is that the defense just looks slow. It sure didn't look as quick as Jarious Jackson or Donovan McNabb.

Is that just a result of Michigan running into a pair of good quarterbacks? Or could it be that the Wolverines have lost some of their trademark edge, that toughness that carried them last year?

Of course, if the Wolverines could run the ball at all, many of their problems would go away. But for two straight weeks now, they've been outrushed. And the list of problems has been so long that the rushing game's futility has been little more than a footnote.

Carr said the running game had to get better.

And that the defense would be better.

And that the offensive line would be stronger, and the penalties had to stop, and basically, he just barely stopped short of ordering himself a new team.

Marcus Ray said after the game that Michigan's problems "can be corrected."

But last year, when Ray talked about how tough his team was, it was called confidence.

Or intensity.

Or swagger. This year, it's just talk.

- Jim Rose can be reached at jwrose@umich.edu.

09-14-98