football

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Great-Divide-The-historic-gap-between-Michigan-?urn=ncaaf-284350#remaining-content

article breaking down how rare it is to have such a good offense and such a bad defense

I would like to throw out my thanks to ALL supporters of this blogging community (minus trolls).  You all make the day go by much better, and give me an excuse not to do HomeWork (College Kid speaking).  While my teachers and parents may hate you, I enjoy the things you all bring up (most of the time).  However, I would like to highlight a few people who have done exceptional jobs and thank them for all the work they have put into this blog.  Here goes.

Note: spellin is not to gud; sory.

• BoyzindaPahokee: all the “every snap videos”
• Mathlete: PAN metrics
• Chris of Danger: Videos for Brian’s picture Pages
• THE_KNOWLEDGE: visions from the future
• Tim: press reports
• TomVH: scouting
• Misogopon: All the great articles
• EnjoyLife: Fremau index
• Communist Football: Commie ball stats
• MonuMental: Wallpapers
• JamieMac: Gambling advice
• WolveInExile: BCS Standings
• EnjoyLife: TOM recaps (and ST)
• StuBob: ugly game of the week
• Brian:  Nuf said

Moving Picture Pages version of http://www.mgoblog.com/content/picture-pages-snag-package.  After what seems like a dozen MPPs that all end badly for Michigan (even the one that showed Denard gaining seven yards was a woulda-coulda-shoulda been a lot more), I finally get a chance to do one that shows something going right.  Don't worry, I'm right back to working through the backlog after this one, and the next one will definitely leave a bad taste in your mouth.

I don't have a whole lot to add to this one except that there's a whole lot of analysis after the last picture that didn't translate well to a clip, so go read it again (I say this because it's safe to assume you've read it once already).  And I'm still working out the timings on the titles.

The other thing that struck me about this, as I learn more of the intricacies of the game, is that there's a whole lot more to a simple 5-yard slant-and-hitch than just running a 5-yard slant and stopping.  It also makes me realize just how difficult it is to play a zone defense, as you have to make split-second decisions about what to do when someone (or multiple someones) enters or leaves your zone.

Uploading to the MGoVideo YouTube channel has been disabled due to a copyright claim by the Michigan Marching Band for their Wizard of Oz halftime show video. I guess they didn't want 40,000 people to watch it embedded on MGoBlog and annarbor.com for some reason. I'll be uploading all new videos to my new channel: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/bigtentracker

Edit: There's some motion blur on this video that I didn't notice while editing. I'm going to try reconverting it before I edit the offense.  

For all you PBS fans "Wolverine - Chasing the Phantom" will be premiering this weekend on Nature - Sunday night here in NY.  Saw the trailer - looks like some pretty awesome camera work.   Key lines - "nobody can keep up with a wolverine" and - "what they can do is beyond human".  Should make a fine end to a successful weekend.  Intro here:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/wolverine-chasing-the-phantom/in...

Our video geeks should be able to have some fun with this

Here's how it breaks down according to Rivals:

"Scouting The Offense:   The Wolverines are dealing with uncertainty at the quarterback position, where QB Denard Robinson leads the Big Ten with 150 yards rushing per game, but he had to leave the Illinois game in the fourth quarter with concussion-like symptoms. He is expected to be available for the game with Purdue, but Robinson’s durability is suspect, since knee and shoulder injuries have also knocked him out of previous games. Should Robinson be sidelined, Michigan has a different offense, but not necessarily an ineffective one. QB Tate Forcier filled in for Robinson and led the Wolverines to the triple-overtime win against Illinois with his passing and running."

"Scouting The Defense:   The Boilermakers have had the heart of their offense removed when season-ending injuries claimed their top receiver, running back and quarterback, so the Purdue team Michigan faces is somewhat limited in its options. Michigan’s struggling defense will be best served by living with the blitz and hoping to force mistakes aplenty from Purdue’s trio of young quarterbacks."

OK, so Robinson is an uncertainty?  Really?  According to whom?

We beat Illinois on the last play by blitzing, so we have to live by the blitz?  What?