Sunday Snowflakes Thread
Now that we've had a night to sleep it off and, if you're a glutton for punishment like me, maybe even watched the game again, have your feelings about the game changed at all?
I guess the thing that totally escaped me immediately after the loss was that we were able to come in after the half, down 11 points and play pretty well to go up 10 by midway through the 4th. That's pretty decent for a team averaging 1 YPC on the ground. Gardner looked genuinely good, with some nice throws deep and good decision making, especially on when to scramble. Nice to see him bounce back after a bad start, unlike the implosion at UConn. We also ran a lot more read option than I remember too, to good effect.
On the other hand, watching it again, it's almost more infuriating we took our foot off the gas. In the moment, I was too petrified to appreciate that we were actually having some success on offense throwing it around. Even the ground game started to loosen up a little as PSU adjusted. Why go back in the predictable pattern that got you destroyed in the first quarter? I can sorta understand not throwing it, but to abandon the veer and other read option plays that worked to go back to I-forming it into a 9 man box is just stupid.
Once we were in OT, I'm no longer too upset about the play calling. You stopped the guys and a FG from the 25 wins it. Given Gibbon's record recently, it's hard to predict we'd miss twice. In OT2 and 4 where we were on offense first, I thought play calling was ok given our deficiencies and not totally trusting Gardner.
Our O-line was attrocious all night. Bryant and Kalis were both getting put on skates. Terrible, high technique just asking to have Penn State's guys to put them on their heals. I wouldn't be surprised to hear Bryant was playing hurt, because that was not the same guy we saw last week. Bryant actually got benched for Burzinyski, who was probably worse so I'm guessing it wasn't just performance related. A somewhat brighter note. Magnuson played a whole half at tackle and Gardner didn't get killed. I went to bed wanting Funk to get fired right away, and I can't say a night's sleep to calm down has really changed my mind. It may not be all on him, but we need a total re-boot at this point.
TL:DR: After calming down and a night's sleep, I realized we played better than I remembered the second half, right up until we pissed it away by going back to I-form. O Line is still a huge problem, bad night for Kalis and Bryant. Fire Funk.
October 13th, 2013 at 5:40 PM ^
Nah, you always want to go second, so then you know what is needed on your possession. Homefield isn't enough of a factor to change that.
October 13th, 2013 at 4:38 PM ^
Yeah no way. You always choose to go second.
October 13th, 2013 at 4:42 PM ^
What has our offense done this year to make you think they can reliably score and put the pressure on? There were some questionable decisions but playing D first is completely the right call.
October 13th, 2013 at 4:56 PM ^
October 13th, 2013 at 7:24 PM ^
Because there's a good chance we don't get even a FG and then PSU knows they can play conservatively. Even if we get the FG, PSU is still in no worse shape than they would be going first. It's only if the offense scores a TD that you really put pressure on the other team.
October 13th, 2013 at 4:34 PM ^
see how there can be any snowflakes losing to a team that was just punked by Indiana for the first time ever and is so depleted by scholarship restrictions.
Nothing good came out of that, nothing at all.
October 13th, 2013 at 4:34 PM ^
Overall, I didn't think we played that horribly and I think people are overreacting (especially when I hear people saying Hoke's time is now worse than RR). I do think it was a terrible meltdown at the end and it bothers me quite a bit.
Basically there were 8-10 plays or decisions that if 1 goes the other way we win. The thing that really frustrates me is that it wasn't our young players making the bad play or decision, it was our coaches or upperclassmen. Also, 3 TOs by DG in the first half are way too much. If he doesn't give those up we win going away. We cannot forget that.
Finally, the one thing I still question is the OT playcalling. Not the fact that we got so conservative, but why even run the ball. We were going for 1 yrd/carry all night long. We get the ball needing 3 to win. Why pound it into the center and lose a yard? Why not just kick it on 1st down?
October 13th, 2013 at 4:43 PM ^
Well, it was also our young players making bad plays a handful of times, most notably Stribbling badly mis-timing his jump on that play at the end that went to the 1 yard line. If he times that jump better that play is broken up and they might not score. Funchess dropped a few balls he shouldn't have, same with Chesson. Kalis had a very dumb personal foul penatly that took us from 3rd and 1 to 3rd and 16. AJ Williams allowed a sack. Jarrod Wilson had a PI in the endzone at the end.
I'm not trying to throw anyone under the bus here, but we play a lot of young guys (by necessity) and they made some young guy mistakes.
October 13th, 2013 at 5:46 PM ^
Stribling mistiming his jump is forgiveable, but he never should have let Robinson get behind him. That's a cardinal sin in the prevent defense. One of the big advantages to staying behind the WR is that he remains in your line of vision, making it a lot easier to time your jump correctly to break up the pass.
October 13th, 2013 at 7:14 PM ^
also mistimed and whiffed on the previous 30 yd pass. he was in position to knock that one down too. he was in position on both plays but botched them both. that said, at least he was in position. i give mattison and the staff some credit for that. how may times did we see the GERG d-backs horribly out of position?
October 13th, 2013 at 5:12 PM ^
either by holding in regulation or surving one of the 3 previous overtimes. I still would not have felt good about this game. Maybe its because I watched a lot of the IU/PSU game, this should just not have been close, I don't know it just wouldn't have felt satisfying and about the only thing I would have felt good about was coming back from 11 down on the road. Penn State is just not that good.
October 13th, 2013 at 4:42 PM ^
October 13th, 2013 at 7:28 PM ^
I agree, but it's going to take a minimum of two more debacles like this before Hoke even thinks of doing that. Maybe if we had lost against Akron and/or UConn, but not at 5-1, no matter how ugly that 5-1 is.
He's a guy that's loyal to a fault and seems to have nothing but contempt for idea of fans dictating what the program should do. Unless it is absolutely a last resort, he won't fire one of his guys.
October 13th, 2013 at 9:48 PM ^
October 13th, 2013 at 4:45 PM ^
October 13th, 2013 at 5:03 PM ^
October 13th, 2013 at 5:13 PM ^
zero chance Petrino ends up at Michigan in any capacity
October 13th, 2013 at 5:05 PM ^
Missing makeable field goals, getting a block FG and having both occur in the same game are very improbable events so it is hard to point blame at this - plus, it isn't as if there were any glaring oversights - it isn't as if someone forgot to ask Brandon Gibbons to please make the kick, and he and whole team feel bad enough without useless fingerpointing at individual players.
Like so many of the people on the site, it seemed that the coaching staff lost their feel of the game. Near the end of regulation the game seemed well in hand but it spiral out of control. Once the Penn State miracle started to happen, I'm sure it had the feeling that the ND staff had during the last minute of UTL1.
This is the one common and worrisome concern from all of the near-miss games and this loss. Things start to go bad and or not according to plan and the adjustments seem to come late or it seems (again stress seems - maybe there is a lot going on behind the scenes) that the philosophy is "let's stand pat and hope it gets better." The passivity is worrisome because nearly all of the good teams hereafter are very active teams - they try to dictate play by attacking on both offense and defense.
Finally have to give credit to the PSU and their HC O'Brien. His decision to go for it all on 4th and 1 in OT rather than extend it with a FG suggests he knew he had the Wolverines on the ropes and that his team was going to be able to power it in. Had the play gone the other way, he would be roundly criticized but seeing how well his team had played at that point in the game, it was the right call.
Get some rest - it is still a long season! Go Blue!
October 13th, 2013 at 5:31 PM ^
I know the fan base is feeling down after the loss and some lingering effects of Akron and UConn.
Let's remember that our team is 5-1. That one loss was on the road in 4OT against a 4-2 team - although we had plenty of chances to win that game, it was a small miracle to be in the game at all after committing 3 1st half turnovers and falling down 11 points.
While no one is going to confuse this Michigan squad for a BCS bowl contender, we still control our own destiny in the Big Ten. No game is guaranteed, but there's really only one game that I would have difficulty imagining Michigan winning. Everyone else in the division has serious flaws that could be exposed on the right night.
October 13th, 2013 at 5:40 PM ^
October 13th, 2013 at 5:42 PM ^
He should be here, not at LSU. Then we find a real O-Line coach and bring Barwis back as a S & C coach. The Oline is not strong enough or know enough about leverage to move anyone off the ball.
It looked like Lewan got a serious dong punch. I watched that play several times I couldn't see anything else that would cause him to not be able to come back.
October 13th, 2013 at 7:23 PM ^
i would watch how he does at VT. and if he does well, i would take him over cameron. at least i know he has a proven track record of developing QBs.
October 13th, 2013 at 5:46 PM ^
October 13th, 2013 at 5:49 PM ^
blunderz
October 13th, 2013 at 6:00 PM ^
What is the terms snowflakes referr to on mgoblog? I also don't understand the Kittens thing either.
October 13th, 2013 at 9:27 PM ^
"Snowflakes" came about last year after a game, when every single person thought they needed to create their own thread to say inane things like "My thoughts on the game", as if their insights were as unique as snowflakes.
So the concept of a "Snowflakes" thread was created to let everyone post their own special little thoughts in one place.
Kittens are a source of comfort in troubling times, going back to The Horror on this blog.
October 13th, 2013 at 6:08 PM ^
I feel pretty much the same as last night - disappointed but stunned by the overreaction of this place. As stated above we're 5-1 and Penn State isn't awful. I know it's not saying much, but last night's performance wasn't nearly as bad as the Akron or UConn games, so why the epic meltdown now? The interior line isn't good for one simple reason - our best talent is still young. And O-line, as much as any position, demands experience. Hoke's first full recruiting class are redshirt freshmen and sophomores. I'm still comfortable with Hoke, his staff, and the trajectory of the program. And let's not forget, on top of it all, he's a decent man that I'm proud to see leading this team.
October 13th, 2013 at 6:38 PM ^
last night's performance wasn't nearly as bad as the Akron or UConn games, so why the epic meltdown now?Because we won those games. Ultimately, I agree with you. The meltdown was embarrassing, to be honest. I was upset like everyone else, but let's keep things in perspective. We're 5-1, 1-1 in the conference and still very much alive. One game at a time, starting with IU.
October 13th, 2013 at 6:41 PM ^
I've got to say I'm surprised that Mattison is apparently getting a free pass for that 80 yard, 25-second drive at the end of regulation. I'm certainly not calling for him to be fired but wow, that was as bad an example of prevent defense as I've seen. Surely we must practice it frequently, but it looked like we had no idea what we were doing. Two basic principles of the prevent are that you don't give up the sideline and don't let receivers get behind you. So what happens? PSU throws to a wide-open guy on the sideline for a first down, then completes two deep balls to receivers that got behind the defense. Sheesh.
October 13th, 2013 at 6:55 PM ^
I feel like Mattison also got a pass in the Outback bowl when we gave up way too many long passing plays to lose. I think it has to do with the fact that the defense under RR was a dumpster fire. The Borges hate largely stems from the contingent that was in love with the RR offense and now it is not as good.
I think the relative view of the two guys has to do with how we are now comparitively. I agree though, I thought our defense could have played better, especially down the stretch.
October 13th, 2013 at 7:34 PM ^
1. that short first down catch was indefensible. the best coverage ever doesn't stop that play. it was an unbelievable catch falling out of bounds. 2. the first 30 yd play, a safety was behind and stribling was in front. stribling had a chance to knock down the pass but he whiffed. he was in position to make a play. 3. the catch at the 1 was another great catch; however, stribling again was in position to knock down the pass but whiffed. where is the DB supposed to be on that play? in the end zone? that does no good. give the WR and QB credit for a perfectly executed play.
October 13th, 2013 at 6:48 PM ^
When Brady Hoke was hired, my initial thoughts were that he would probably get Michigan back to what it was during the Lloyd Carr era: a team that loses and average of 3.5 games a year. To me, that means three losses and a 50-50 shot at winning a bowl game most years. Anything else is a bonus.
I will say the same thing about Hoke that I said about RR: he deserves five years before he is judged. We won't know how good Hoke is until he has his own class of fifth-year seniors. I have been impressed by his recruiting and by his ability to delegate the things he is weak in.
I don't know if this qualifies as a "snowflake," but I am going to say something else that I said when RR was head coach: if you are a fan, support your head coach. When you have been a fan as long as I have (since 1960), you see a lot of patterns about sports fandom.
The most distressing pattern: many of the people who are complaining about Hoke are the ones that complained about RR. I'm not talking about someone like Brian, whose job it is to write with honesty and passion. I am talking about the segment of "Michigan fans" who only want to be fans when the team is winning.
This is one loss: big deal. Every game left is winnable, and it's no disgrace to lose at PSU, especially when a referee decides the game in the fourth OT, and especially after a kid who entered the game with one of the highest FG percentages in the NCAA this year had a terrible night.
Nobody really thought this team was going to go 15-0 this year, did they?
October 13th, 2013 at 7:34 PM ^
Good post. Let's not forget too about the negative effects of coaching instability on recruiting. We're living through the gaping hole left by the 2010 class as a result of RR being on the hot seat. Even changing OC's should not be taken lightly, especially if the system they run is very different. There are any number of negative side effects to large scale change in staff. It is far from an quick and easy fix.
October 13th, 2013 at 6:59 PM ^
We only have one loss, and I get that we have major issues this year, but it's almost as if people expect 12-0 each year. Even Ohio State, currently the class of the Big Ten (hard as it is to say) has only done it a handful of times in their history.
October 13th, 2013 at 8:59 PM ^
That being said, I would have preferred some pressure.
October 13th, 2013 at 9:42 PM ^
Exactly. We also had people complaining about the blown pooch punt when listing what the coaches did wrong. Huh? They didn't punt the ball. And can you imagine the reaction if they had gotten agessive in OT when all we needed was a FG and we turned the ball over...how dare you not just set it up for Gibbons, he's money!