Thoughts on the Notre Dame debacle
1. If there was any doubt about whether the bowl game streak would end, I think we received an emphatic answer today. After briefly looking at the rest of the schedule I think that we will finish with 4 wins.
2. Sam McGuffie is a tough runner, and I really like Stonum.
3. I hope that Carson Butler is suspended for swinging at the Notre Dame team, because that kind of crap has no place in the game.
4. How is Stevie Brown still playing?
5. Mesko looked much better today, as did the O Line.
6. Notre Dame is much improved, but the fact that this was still a ballgame in the third quarter does not say much for them. MSU will clobber them.
7. Our QBs are poor, but I would make Threet the starter for the rest of the year.
8. Our front seven did not step up today.
9. How is it that Carlos Brown is not more of a factor in this offense? He is a home run threat.
10. This spread offense really seems to bog down in the red zone, and I think that we are way too predictable there. When we went to the I-Formation it was obvious that we were going to run up the gut.
September 13th, 2008 at 7:24 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 7:37 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:06 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:13 PM ^
He also was at fault for the bomb in the first half. He bit so hard on the slant that he was hardly on the damn screen.
As I just posted like 4" above, Harrison at FS, Stewart at SS. Anything but Brown.
September 13th, 2008 at 7:38 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 7:44 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:28 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 9:06 PM ^
Maybe "great" is a bit much because of the fumbles, but he did throw the ball great. Very accurate. I believe that he can and will learn to hold onto the ball better.
September 13th, 2008 at 9:41 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 10:49 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 7:46 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 7:52 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 7:46 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:20 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 7:58 PM ^
1. Ok, guy. Maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong, but I don't see any reason to quit on the season now.
2. I agree with this. Both looked good. Maybe some of the people who were getting hot and bothered about McGuffie "not being tough enough," "strong enough," or lacking "top end speed" will now shut up.
3. Shut up up, you goddamn nancy. You weren't on the field, you don't know, literally, anything about anything. The guy was mad his team lost and threw an open handed half punch. Get over it. This is tackle football. Take your holier than thou bullshit elsewhere, thnx.
4. You ever consider that M doesn't have anyone better than Stevie Brown? Yeah, he's made some very apparent and costly mistakes. But the coaching staff evaluates these guys day in and day out and obviously they know who stands where. You don't know anything.
5. Thank god you pointed this out. It wasn't, you know, apparent at all.
6. I would hesitate to call them "much improved." "Marginally better" would be more appropriate. ND did very little on its own volition.
7. What an astute observation. You're a clever little devil, aren't you?
8. Ok. Fair enough. But, maybe you should consider the fact it was pouring and no one was getting a good push forward. They did a decent enough job and had nothing to do with the final outcome being so far in ND's favor.
9. He looks slow. He doesn't seem right and the "Wildhog" formation isn't working with our current personnel. Doyou think the coaching staff is purposely shelving him because they don't want to, as you say, hit "homeruns?" Come on.
10. What? Again, you know nothing. The team bogged down once, get it, once in the red zone. The other times it fumbled and threw and INT. Turnovers != bogging down. And, the fact that RR has completely re-invented the offense, in both strategy and structure, means that you can't just magically flip a switch and go from effective zone read spread to effective i-form. That's not how these things work. All that notwithstanding, though, the team's costliest turnover came when they were trying to pound it.
So, yeah. Thanks for nothing, guy.
September 13th, 2008 at 8:11 PM ^
Gratuitous, BGH. Oh, and
4. Harrison at FS, Stewart at SS. Brown is the worst Michigan football player since Todd Howard, though Howard had two years to suck, and Brown has fit 70% of that suck in only 3.5 games. He is the most shambolic safety I have ever seen.
September 13th, 2008 at 9:42 PM ^
Didn't the coaching staff evaluate Sheridan day in and day out? Questioning some of these personnel decisions doesn't mean we don't know anything, there are legitimate questions.
For the record, I'm with you that the C. Brown formation hasn't looked dangerous, but I don't think we should give up on it yet. Adding some other options out of that look should help make it more efficient.
September 13th, 2008 at 8:05 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:18 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:15 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:16 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:19 PM ^
I agree, Threet was pretty solid.
He really needs to stop the Ryan Mallett Memorial Fumbling every game, but other than that he actually made me think he could challenge to hang on to the starting spot next year.
September 13th, 2008 at 8:18 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:24 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:27 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:35 PM ^
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September 13th, 2008 at 9:27 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 9:39 PM ^
have help to the inside, on the underneith slant, it was a 2 read robber coverage...
notice browns eyes and feet on the play, trent hass to stay on top of a vertical, and he didnt....
September 13th, 2008 at 8:38 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 8:53 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 9:15 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 9:42 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 9:29 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 9:42 PM ^
In this, McGuffie is certainly a rising star, he was the most consistent on the field. Threet is too hyped up and makes costly mistakes, [sorry] I am hard on OB's - he needs to form it up, but can he lead this Michigan team? I believe so. I am just a little miffed, and was upset because I was expecting more from Rodriguez... but had to remind myslef that it is gonna take a couple of years before we see any real changes.
But I hope kids can see possibilites in recruiting and our scouting efforts get better as a side effect of the senior team having left. Our recruitment is effected by these loosing spells. Change has to happen now... and has to happen big!
September 13th, 2008 at 9:44 PM ^
Threet was Terrible?
Threet 16/23 175 yrds 1TD 0INT
Sheridan 3/5 54 yrds 0TD 2 INT
Clausen 10/21 147 yrds 2TD 2INT
Minus the fumbles(he wasn't wearing gloves while Clausen was, though that isn't an excuse for that many fumbles) Threet was the best QB on the field today in my opinion.
September 13th, 2008 at 9:52 PM ^
Football's is about more than stats pal. It is about leadership, and decision making abilities. Also being responsible enough to carry your share so the team doesn't pay the price for one's inability to pull their own weight. They practiced for rain, the fact he didn't have gloves is irresponsible, he blew plays and empowered the enemy team that's all to it. Henne wasn't that great - but he was responsible and had a pro attitude.
Threet failed, but he is a good kid.
September 13th, 2008 at 10:08 PM ^
You think leadership or responsibility had anything to do with it? Threet was responsible for Cissoko's fumble, or Grady, or any of what Sheridan did? Maybe his lateral could've had a little more touch, but that's a catch Minor has to make.
You think gloves are the answer? He seemed to be able to throw the ball fine in the rain right up until that happened. What good do gloves do him if he can't throw the ball straight when he has them on? I'm sure he tried it in practice and didn't like them. You can never really prepare for that kind of rain unless it's actually raining like that in practice.
He's a GD reshirt freshman, people. For the love of God, I bet you guys were busy bitching out Henne last year too.
September 13th, 2008 at 10:21 PM ^
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September 15th, 2008 at 2:10 AM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 10:36 PM ^
When was the last time we had 8 fumbles?
To the haters(you know who you are): Please Stop Watching!
This is a means to an end! In 2 years we will revel in our dominance over all who dare play us. Teams will once again fear the name Michigan on their schedule. We will look back on this season as a great moment of Michigan Football history. The season it all began. GO BLUE!
September 13th, 2008 at 10:41 PM ^
Everyone needs to relax. We all knew this was going to be a difficult season. Sure, today we saw some bad things. Fumbles, a lot of them. Sure you can blame the rain, but ND didn't make costly fumbles, and we did. There are things to be encouraged about from this game, and in this season, that is what we need to take from things, the positive. We took some serious strides on offense.
-We gained 388 yards of total offense. 388! We had numerous sustained offensive drives.
-Sam McGuffie looked like he can become a dominant runner.
-The offensive blocking looked fairly competent (Albeit against a weak ND line).
-The defensive looked a little porous, but you cant really blame them for the score. 21 points came off two drives starting inside the 20 and a fumble return for a touchdown. The line didn't get to Clausen enough, but ND had short fields all day.
-Threet looked very competent and controlled even in the rain, leading a very impressive drive in terrible conditions until the Grady fumble. (We score there, who knows how this game turns out, ND can't sit on the ball anymore).
-I agree with one of the posts above. Threet was the best QB on the field today. Clausen was competent, but its not hard to score those first two touchdowns from 15-20 yards out.
Initially, going into this game, I told myself, if we lose this game, No bowl, but if we win, bowl is very much a possibility. After this game, I see flashes of potential in which if we can execute like we did today (without the fumbles), beating Illinois, MSU, and Wisconsin or Penn State (one of them) is certainly possible. We are 1-2, win the games we should against Minnesota, Northwestern, Toledo, and Purdue, with a 1-2 of the above, we could be bowl bound. The learning curve from this team is steep. So, everyone take a deep breath and allow them to grow. Enjoy being able to watch Michigan football. We've got 9 more games to enjoy.
September 13th, 2008 at 11:15 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 11:45 PM ^
September 13th, 2008 at 11:51 PM ^
September 14th, 2008 at 12:39 AM ^
I liked a lot of things about today. The offense played better than I ever expected minus the obvious turnovers. Lets face it, they moved the ball at will almost but gave them the game on three fumbles (the lateral, kickoff, threet) and then grady's going in. If they don't fumble two of those, I think we win. Not to mention, they were down 21 in what seemed like a blink of the eye and they never quit nor panicked. Couple things I'm wondering though from Rich Rod:
Why put Sheridan in? It seemed as if Threet must have been hurt and couldn't play but he came back in!!! What was up with that move?
Second, I know Minor has had some bad plays but he's a game-breaker and change of pace to McGuffie. Was it me or was that cut-back over the center open every time for a guy who can go up the middle? He hasn't given Minor the opportunity at all in the first three games to get in the flow of a game. Even Brown today?! McGuffie played great but a different guy gives the defense something else to worry about and those guys can break it big. That bothers me....
Lastly, Butler should be suspended without question. That is NOT MICHIGAN FOOTBALL. It wasn't a late hit or physical contact that set him off. Rather some trash talk that he didn't like (hurt his feelings) and he was selfish enough to make the rest of his teammates and those who came before him look class-less and foolish. If Lloyd were on the sidelines, he would've had the guy by the facemask and he would've known that he screwed-up right away. Heck, RR looked like he was going to put him back on the field until they gave the official call. NO PLACE FOR IT IN THAT UNIFORM. I hope that's not the trend of this program.
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