Week 12 was the week of the broken quarterback. After Oregon's Dennis Dixon went down with a torn ACL on Thursday night, Hawai'i's Colt Brennan lasted only two snaps before leaving his game on Friday to nurse the concussion that took him out of the last few minutes of the previous week's win. Then on Saturday, the barrage continued, as Michigan's Chad Henne was in and out of his team's loss to Ohio State with a shoulder injury and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford was knocked out of his team's loss to Texas Tech with a first-quarter concussion.

Continue reading "The Week Of The Broken QB" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mike Hart has not had an easy year. The Michigan running back has watched his team get off to an abysmal start, guaranted a win that seemed to jumpstart the team, and has succeeded for the past few weeks in carrying the Wolverines on his very capable back. Unfortunately, that back appears to be breaking. After being hampered by a hamstring injury in the early weeks of the season, Hart is back on the injury list after injuring his right ankle in the first half of Saturday's win over Purdue, and was out of uniform for the entire second half.

Continue reading "Michigan: Hart Out, Again" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Michigan went into Saturday's conference game against Northwestern battling a host of injuries, and the Wolverines left Evanston in significantly worse shape. The team came from behind to earn a 38-16 decision and Chad Henne did play, but tight end Mike Massey, right guard Tim McAvoy and linebacker Chris Graham were all banged up in the effort, putting them in the same boat as five other players whose injuries forced them to watch the game from the sidelines.

Continue reading "Michigan: Wolverines Rally, Need Repair" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Michigan quarterback and (former) Heisman trophy candidate Chad Henne has received medical clearance to return to the field as the 2-2 Wolverines' signal-caller. According to medical personnel, the senior has recovered enough from the right knee sprain he suffered in a Week 2 loss to Oregon to play this week at Michigan. But just because he can play does not mean that he will play.

Continue reading "Michigan: Henne Can Play, But Will He?" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Michigan may have brought itself about a half-crawl closer to the door of the doghouse by pummeling Notre Dame on Saturday, but the Wolverines should be prepared to get right back inside after Penn State comes to town this weekend, especially since Chad Henne may not be ready to play by the time Saturday rolls around. Henne watched last week's game from the comfort of the press box with a brace protecting the right knee he sprained two weeks ago against Oregon, and head coach Lloyd Carr is in no hurry to rush a still-healing Henne back to the field.

Continue reading "Michigan: Henne Healing, Slowly" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It became official this week: Heisman Trophy candidate Chad Henne is no longer a Heisman Trophy candidate. The Michigan quaterback's injured left knee will keep him out for 2-3 weeks, giving him far less time to improve his 31-for-60 completion rate and 2:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The senior should should return to the gridiron at some point this season, but for the time being, the Wolverines will look to freshman Ryan Mallett to lead them past Notre Dame and away from the dreaded 0-3 start.

Continue reading "Michigan: Henne To Miss 2-3 Weeks" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a day for Michigan. The Wolverines lose two straight at home to start the season 0-2, lose by their worst margin in decades and their top two players, both Heisman hopefuls, get banged up in the process. The worse casualty of the two was starting quarterback Chad Henne, who did not play in the second half of the 39-7 loss to Oregon because of an injury to his lower leg. Running back Mike Hart reaggrivated the hamstring injury that hampered him last week, so he spent his sideline time pedalling backwards on an exercise bike, but remained in the game.

Continue reading "Michigan: Henne Out, Hart Hurting" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Michigan is looking at a thinner line than expected after right guard Alex Mitchell was injured Monday morning, taking him out for at least the team's opening game against Appalachian State on Sept. 1. With Mitchell on the bench, three new starters will take the field to protect Heisman candidate Chad Henne, and that's far from an ideal situation.

Continue reading "Michigan: A Thin, Thin Line" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Losing a starter unquestionably derails any team's strategic planning for the short term at least (and long term at most), but losing a backup can be just as devastating. After a weekend of scrimmages around the nation, Auburn and Michigan are both feeling the effects of losing backups, and that's about as fun as a root canal.

Continue reading "Bruised Backups" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)