Saw a thread claiming Woodson was the best UM player....

[Reality Man]

ever or let's say the last 50 years.

I have been watching UM football and while Woodson is arguably the best or among the top 5...I disagree.

Anthony Carter was the best UM football player (skill wise). He touched the ball more than Woodson so just by that logic AC was better than Woodson.

I would say Howard was also better than Woodson for the same reasons plus when you factor in ST's...then maybe Howard is the best of the last 50 years.

Here is my main point. Woodson get's way too much praise relative to other UM football players because he was more recent. For all I know Harmon or Oosterbaan were better than all of these guys. I can't even factor in John Elliott or Hutchinson and others. Harbaugh was really a great qb at UM.

Woodson would have been minimzed if he didn't have other great players on that defense. They would have just stayed away from him and his legend would have been minimized. Is Woodson better than Ty Law?

Top 5 players at UM off the top of my head that I have watched play.

1. Anthony Carter
2. Desmond Howard
3. Jim Harbaugh
4. Charles Woodson
5. David Harris


Not saying it's YOUR list...just my last. Give me some guys I missed that would make your top 5. Timmy B? Morris? Leach?



Reality Man

 

[scfanblue]

I think Woodson is the best to ever play at Michigan. A true weapon on both sides of the ball and could almost shut down the entire field in his last year. His pro career is also my proof. Love how he single handidly beat OSU his last year and then came across the entire end zone to leap and pick off Ryan Leaf's corner pass when WSU was in the Red Zone. Dominant player who deservedly won the Heisman Trophy on the field. Michigan has had some great players and in my time, I admired:
1. Rick Leech
2. Jim Harbaugh
3. Anthony Carter
4. Dhani Jones
5. Paul Joksich
6. Butch Woolfolk
7. Anthony Thomas
8. Tom Brady
9. Brian Greise
10. Denard Robinson.
11. Jamie Morris
12. A host of OL guys

 

[ChicagoBlueFan]

ever or let's say the last 50 years.

I have been watching UM football and while Woodson is arguably the best or among the top 5...I disagree.

Anthony Carter was the best UM football player (skill wise). He touched the ball more than Woodson so just by that logic AC was better than Woodson.

I would say Howard was also better than Woodson for the same reasons plus when you factor in ST's...then maybe Howard is the best of the last 50 years.

Here is my main point. Woodson get's way too much praise relative to other UM football players because he was more recent. For all I know Harmon or Oosterbaan were better than all of these guys. I can't even factor in John Elliott or Hutchinson and others. Harbaugh was really a great qb at UM.

Woodson would have been minimzed if he didn't have other great players on that defense. They would have just stayed away from him and his legend would have been minimized. Is Woodson better than Ty Law?

Top 5 players at UM off the top of my head that I have watched play.

1. Anthony Carter
2. Desmond Howard
3. Jim Harbaugh
4. Charles Woodson
5. David Harris


Not saying it's YOUR list...just my last. Give me some guys I missed that would make your top 5. Timmy B? Morris? Leach?



Reality Man

By your logic, Devin Gardner and Jack Miller were both superior to Woodson and Carter as they both touched the ball on every play.
I personally think AC and Woodson were the two most dominant UM players I've seen, and the race is for the #3 spot.

 

[ArrowheadBlue]

Woodson covered half of the field. I don't think anyone else, anywhere, has done the same. He returned kicks and played some offense. And he is the only defensive player to win a Heisman. What's left to do?

 

[michnittlion]

By your logic, Devin Gardner and Jack Miller were both superior to Woodson and Carter as they both touched the ball on every play.
I personally think AC and Woodson were the two most dominant UM players I've seen, and the race is for the #3 spot.

Glen Steele in 1997 could make a legitimate case for #3.

Of course, he only touched the ball twice all season (2 fumble recoveries). And when I start comparing numbers versus each other, I noticed that Nick Sheridan had 3 touchdowns (2 passing and 1 rushing) in 2008. Obviously, Nick Sheridan touched the ball three times in 2008, and three is greater than two.

So I've changed my mind, not Steele, let's go 2008 Nick Sheridan at #3.

 

[tarun262]

This is not even a question - Woodson single-handedly changed the landscape of any game because he could cover half of the field all by himself. Yes other players touched the ball more, etc but in terms of pure impact you can't argue with Woodson. By your token Reality Man - touching the ball, stats, etc - Denard Robinson in his last season under Hoke should be the best of all time because he did everything. You have to measure leadership, intangibles, impact on the game, impact on the team and hard to see who does it better then Woodson...baffled that you thought JH was a better player then Woodson???

 

[GoBlueJagaloon]

Top 5 players at UM off the top of my head that I have watched play.

1. Anthony Carter
2. Desmond Howard
3. Jim Harbaugh
4. Charles Woodson
5. David Harris

Reality Man

You might want to at least drop Harris and put Denard in the top 5 there pal. It's not even close, the dude won so many games single handed, our record would have been even worse without him those 3 years he was starting. It's not his fault he had little talent and shitty coaching his entire career.

 

[ChicagoBlueFan]

Glen Steele in 1997 could make a legitimate case for #3.

Of course, he only touched the ball twice all season (2 fumble recoveries). And when I start comparing numbers versus each other, I noticed that Nick Sheridan had 3 touchdowns (2 passing and 1 rushing) in 2008. Obviously, Nick Sheridan touched the ball three times in 2008, and three is greater than two.

So I've changed my mind, not Steele, let's go 2008 Nick Sheridan at #3.

If he had 3 scoring plays I seriously doubt those were the only 3 snaps he took. So he touched it a lot more than 3-and wasn't Sheridan the holder? That would be a lot more touches.

 

[michnittlion]

If he had 3 scoring plays I seriously doubt those were the only 3 snaps he took. So he touched it a lot more than 3-and wasn't Sheridan the holder? That would be a lot more touches.

Yeah, he would have touched the ball several hundred times in 2008. Looking up the stats, I forgot that he actually started 4 full football games (including Ohio State in 2008) --- he threw 137 passes in total.

I was just acting like an idiot and finding one of U-M's least effective players in recent history (not ripping on Sheridan when I say that, you're already better than 95% of people if you can play D-1A football, but it was true) and saying "well, we know he touched the ball at least 3 times, which is more than 2, thus Sheridan > Steele."