I don't think anybody expected yesterday to have as many odd storylines as it did. For the most part Joe was going to have his press conference, tell us something generic about Bolden, and say something diplomatic about Evan Royster and the record. Well, between Roystergate, Bolden's apparent lack of memory, and the threat of a NewGloin roaming the field on Saturday there seems to be plenty to talk about leading up to this weeks game.
What caught my attention was how Joe addressed the quarterback situation. In regards to Bolden, Joe conveniently assumes that he won't be able to play, even though he, and other university officials have never straight up said "Rob Bolden has a concussion" and Joe in fact says something along the lines that he doesn't really know what Bolden's injury is in that much detail. To me that seems odd. When Daryll Clark got his head knocked off against Ohio State the university said pretty quickly what was up. He was taken care of and that was that. Head injury treatment is pretty cut and dry. If he's bad enough they have to think about sitting him, they will. Penn State isn't doing that, they're letting you assume that's the case, but that's it.
So what's the difference? Joe needs to gain his team an edge. Even if he knows right now that Bolden won't play he's presented the information in an ambiguous way that Michigan can't ignore. Joe has suggested Bolden may or may not play. He's said that McGloin or Newsome will start of Bolden can't play. He's also hinted at McGloin and Newsome may BOTH play during the game. Something that you almost never see Joe do. Michigan can't ignore that, and now a young, shaky Michigan defense has to spend the next two days getting ready to face three different types or quarterbacks. A young talent, Brett Farve, and a dual threat.
You can call me crazy, Joe could very well not know anything about Bolden's status, and he really could be praying that McGloin and Newsome come along enough to get the job done. Frankly, that's a lot more likely, but I'm not sure I'm ready to believe everything Joe is saying just yet.
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