In case it may interest some people here, I am at the Coaches Clinic Intl in Scranton. Tonight, Mike McQueary (recruiting coordinator @ PSU) was giving a talk on beating 'Slick' (quarters) coverage and goal line/short yardage strategy.

He used a number of clips of PSU against Michigan last year to demonstrate examples of how to exploit various coverages. Needless to say, it was painful to sit there and watch as he showed clips and described several sequences where defenders WERE exactly where they needed to be and couldn't make plays. FWIW, he said some very complementary things about Rich as an offensive coach ("This clip makes me feel a little sad for Coach Rodriguez. His offense is nearly impossible to gameplan for, but the defense couldn't get it done").

He used Michigan as an example of the importance of finding a few things as a coach that you can connect with your players on re: scheme, rather than trying to run every kind of scheme with minimal understanding (Less is better).

The hardest thing to watch was a near-goal line stand where PSU ran a Fullback draw into a 3-man front and barely needed any blocking to get the TD. He referred to that as "some knuckleheaded goal-line defense".

Anyway, pretty interesting stuff... FWIW, he wasn't just throwing up a lot of stuff against michigan... in fact, much of his hours worth of footage came from games against MSU and Iowa.

Can anybody post audio of the RR interview?  Just curious what he has to say.

So when I read the post earlier "Perfect Storm" 

http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/perfect-storm

I thought to myself ahhhh, what!?!? I have now heard it all, Rich's tenure compared to the Edmund Fitzgerald. After wondering what the hell was going on I decided the next logical step in this crazy comparison was to rewrite the damn song, (crazy in itself, I know)  it makes about as much sense as the damn OP. 

Props to my boy Gordon Lightfoot for the original words I was able to parody. 

So here it is in all its glory boys...now I just hope you enjoy it!

The Wreck of the Richard Rodriguez

The legend lives on from The Brown Jug on down

Of the stadium that they call the Big House
The House, it is said, never gives up her Stead

When the games of November turn gloomy.



With a roster and core – Just as good as before?

Some said Lloyd Carr left the cupboard empty

This good team of blue was a bone to be chewed

When the games of November came early



The new coach was the pride of the hillbilly side
In a state people call West Virginia

As big coaches go his name was bigger than most

But not as big as his buyout

Some papers went POOF? Phone calls to recruits

Then they left fully loaded for A squared

Its all for naught but 3 terrible years for a yacht
Les was a Hailing, while Martin was sailing

The ire of the freep and alums dug in deep
And no more waves broke out in the Big House

And every fan knew, as the Coach did, too,

T'was the games of 08’ left them seething.



First downs came too late and the touchdowns had to wait

When the games of 09’ came a slashing

Saturday afternoons came and we cried like a dame

Leaving us long for Saturdays of hash bashing

With 2010 done “to watch them was fun”

Some said David, its too rough to keep um

As a man tried and true, David gave him his due
Some said Coach it's been good to know ya.



The Coach wired in not even here Vince L. could win
And the great team and fans was in peril

Sanctions, the Freep, no wins against a rivalry

Came the wreck of Richard Rodriguez.

Does anyone know where the love of Josh Grobin goes

When the waves hello turn to flipping the bird

The Walmart-a-rines say, its time to lean Spartys way
But us true fans we never did wonder

David flew here to there, our concerns not a care
Jim, Pat,Les, A flying pizza,  Flight Tracker
And through all that smoke is left one Coach Brady Hoke
Hail to the Victors our Maize and Blue backer

Ohio State rolls, Sparty nation sings

In the down years of our historic program

Old Michigan will be back, Big Ten asses we’ll stack
The Big House is for Mich-i-gan Men.



And the future will show that school in O-hi-oooo
Takes players that Michigan sends her
And Big Ten championships go as the players all know

With the games of November remembered.



In a musty old hall in Livonia they sang

At the Michigan Football Banquet

“You Raise Me Up” was sang almost 85 times

For each man coached by Richard Rodriguez.



The legend lives on from the deck of Dominics on down

Of the stadium that they call The Big House
It’s Michigan for God Sake, he said at the wake
Captain Hoke its been sure great to meet yaaaaa

Per the AP: Rodriguez expected to be "exponentially" better next season. 

Doubt we'll hear anything more from him tomorrow on this topic, given that he's been hired to talk about NSD, but I guess you never know.

http://detnews.com/article/20110201/SPORTS0201/102010439/1361/Rich-Rodriguez--U-M-was-going-to-be--exponentially--better-next-season  

So, has anyone noticed the parallels between the movie "The Damned United" and the recent history of Michigan football?  I did a search and couldn't find any discussion of this on the board, which surprised me, because as I was watching, it really felt like I was watching Rich Rodriguez's life story, if only he'd been born in England instead of West Virginia.

If you're not familiar, the movie is based on the true story of the hiring of Brian Clough, a legendary English soccer coach, at Leeds United in 1974.  I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say it's a familiar story. 

If you're the kind of person who hates soccer, don't worry: there's very little actual soccer content in it, and the soccer that's in it mostly involves fistfights and violent tackles.  It's just a very well put together movie directed by the same guy who did "The King's Speech" and the "John Adams" documentary on HBO.  It's a movie about sports without being a sports movie, if you get the distinction.

Anyway, it's very much worth watching if you're trying to make sense of the last three years, and it's available to watch instantly on Netflix.