Passing attack weapons

Taking on an expanded role each week, it is now clear that 6'3" Adrian Arrington (Jr./So.) is the #2 receiver in the passing attack. Coach Carr continues to sing his praises and after the Wisconsin game the Coach doled out what coming from him is a high compliment when he referred to Arrington as being "reliable." If Coach Carr thinks a player is "reliable" that means he trusts getting the ball in that player's hands. Arrington had his best game as a Wolverine against Wisconsin as he garnered 4 passes for 79 yards including a 33-yard reception down the middle-of-the-field in the first quarter.

With the emergence of Arrington as the clear #2 receiver, I believe that Steve Breaston's opportunities at Wide Receiver will continue to diminish as I have been chronicling in posts since the season began. Against Wisconsin, Breaston tallied 2 receptions for 5 yards and rushed the ball 3 times for 9 yards. Fortunately, he had a top-notch day on special teams as he returned 9 punts for 116 yards. With his outstanding punt return performance fans seemed to ignore the fact that Breaston had not contributed much on the plays from scrimmage. Although I believe that Breaston will continue to see screens thrown his way, I do not believe that he is going to see many, if any, deep balls, slant routes and/or downfield throws going his way.

At Monday's press conference Coach Carr joked (at least I think he was joking) that he was disappointed in offensive lineman Rueben Riley, Jr. for not doing more with the ball when he caught a deflected ball in the Wisconsin game. Riley caught the ball and promptly went down losing 9 yards on the play and Coach Carr joked that if that was all Riley was going to do with the ball then he was removing that play from the playbook. (He will probably put it in the same place where he put the pages for the plays designed for Breaston. Just kidding). At least Riley helped QB Chad Henne's completion percentage by catching the ball. Just do not expect any plays designed for Riley or Jake Long anytime soon. Go Blue!