How good is Michigan? ESPN Insider conducted an anonymous survey of coaches
Not sure how much of paywalled stuff I can put here so I will just leave the link
The expectations for Year 1 of the Harbaugh era are being rapidly revised. Can Michigan challenge rivals Ohio State and Michigan State in the Big Ten East Division? How much should we buy into the past four weeks, as Michigan has defeated only one opponent (BYU) with a winning record? What's Michigan's ceiling this year, and what could stop the Wolverines from reaching it?
We asked coaches who have faced Michigan -- or soon will in the Big Ten -- to assess Harbaugh and the Wolverines as they prepare for their Big Ten home opener against No. 13 Northwestern. Coaches were granted anonymity in order to speak freely.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
they better not F' up our strength of schedule!
October 7th, 2015 at 7:54 PM ^
Damn straight. Those motha fuckas keep holding us back.
October 7th, 2015 at 6:25 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 7th, 2015 at 7:35 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 8:34 AM ^
Prepare...Perform...Next...
as a professional (of course not football) it all seems to fit with the way one would want an enterprise to perform.
As its been said, one "oh schnapp" wipes out a thousand 'atta-boys' so you have to be constantly working to avoid one and gaining the other over and over.
October 7th, 2015 at 6:40 AM ^
Two more losses this season won't, I think, make us underachievers. Maybe just achievers commensurate with our talent, which we haven't had in a long time. I'm cool with that. And if we do beat one of the rivals and lose maybe one other random game, that I think might even count as overachieving this year.
October 7th, 2015 at 7:41 AM ^
That's what happens when you are good, the media talks about you.....
October 7th, 2015 at 7:58 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 8:01 AM ^
Harbaugh is too. Combine the two and we're going to get more ink than just about anyone. I think it's a big net positive.
October 7th, 2015 at 8:01 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 9:12 AM ^
Complacency meaning if our expectations as fans and as an AD are not heightened, we will allow mediocre to be the standard. 8-4ish seasons complimented by the occasional 10 win season. If you allow good to be the standard, you'll rarely fight until you get to great.
October 7th, 2015 at 10:04 AM ^
Who would have seen THIS coming?
October 7th, 2015 at 12:08 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 7th, 2015 at 12:20 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 12:21 AM ^
/never married
Seriously. Ace in a ska band taught me more about this team (because it was epic, and so is this team).
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 7th, 2015 at 6:47 AM ^
Really. The OP basically took the bra off under the shirt and said "don't you wish you could see what's under here?"
October 7th, 2015 at 7:33 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 7th, 2015 at 8:52 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 12:23 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 9:48 AM ^
So all these coaches are pretty much seeing the same thing all of us are.
October 7th, 2015 at 10:40 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 12:23 AM ^
Ahhh man, yea definitely not paying for insider. Sounds like an interesting article though!
October 7th, 2015 at 12:25 AM ^
They are saying Michigan is as good as Harbaugh
October 7th, 2015 at 12:35 AM ^
Everything is coming up Harbaugh.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:44 AM ^
1484, you raise some valid points...and normally I would agree, IF the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Head Coach was Brady Hoke, or some other Clown.
But, he is not. He is Jim MFin Harbaugh, who has more Panache and Mystque than any other coach in football, or pro sports for that matter... not named Belichik.
For that reason alone... I FREAKING LOVE THE HYPE.
Harbaugh is making this team STRONG. He is molding Men from Boys and teaching them how to deal with pressure and expecations.
He has dealt with both of those for over 30 years and has them down cold.
This is Captain Comeback for crissakes.
Harbs aura is seeping in to the conciousness and unconsciousness of Urban Meyer and D-Tonio. There are no doubts about that.
So bring on the Hype....and check this out:
https://youtu.be/h3fq5yTkUPE?t=1h41m55s
1 hr. 41 minutes in. CC
October 7th, 2015 at 7:36 AM ^
(Looks around. Four walls. Nah.... But golly that pumped me up)
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 7th, 2015 at 12:48 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 1:19 AM ^
I agree with the hype to an extent. Michigan certainly has a realistic chance at emerging as the best team in the Big Ten. Current momentum and scheduling trend that way. I don't think they're the best team in the nation just yet, but they are certainly one of the 5 or so most impressive I've seen thus far (Utah, Bama, Florida, NW, UofM). Bama and Michigan essentially beat themselves with turnovers vs very good ranked teams, and Utah, Florida and NW all have very impressive, dominant wins that were somewhat, or very unexpected (Oregon, Ole Miss, Standford), along with being undefeated. That's just MHO though.
October 7th, 2015 at 1:19 AM ^
I have insider and I'm not shy about spilling all, I certainly signed no confidentiallty statement with ESPN. Thing is, there is no there there. Really, there isn't anything that isnt' discussed daily on MGoBlog. Hell, we've gotten juicier quotes from post game pressers than you'll get from this article. Here's the best quote in the entire article.
"That was the best defense by far that we had played all year," said a defensive assistant who has faced three Power 5 opponents.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:47 AM ^
our defense is better than that of Nebraska and UCLA. What a scoop!
October 7th, 2015 at 2:07 AM ^
...and its not just the defense...its special teams. The Inside Michigan football this week showed the Punt Coverage.
and...it was a Thing of Pure Beauty.
Coach Baxter has those kids respecting and staying in their lanes all the way down the field. There literally is nowhere for the returners to run.
Great coaching is a thing of pure beauty. Its worth its weight in gold....
October 7th, 2015 at 3:18 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 4:00 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 4:39 AM ^
When people use the expression “Drinking the Kool Aid,” do they understand that all those people who drank the Kool Aid died? LINK
We’re talking about Jim Harbaugh. Shouldn’t we be using the expression “Drinking the Milk?”
October 7th, 2015 at 8:28 AM ^
/s
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 7th, 2015 at 8:41 AM ^
There are 2 pop culture Kool Aid references. HERE's the other one.
October 7th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
Good old C20H25N3O!
October 7th, 2015 at 8:53 AM ^
Not just milk, but whole milk. Not that candy-ass 2%.
October 7th, 2015 at 4:08 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 4:25 AM ^
In regards to the offense, it is pretty obvious the game plan even wiht utah was to beat them until they were tired and then try to close out the game instead of going for big plays.. it was a grind.
every single game michigan has played so far, by the end of the game, the defense of the other team has looked absolutely gassed while our defense still looks like they're in the first half. most of their players will be sucking air with their hands on their hips while we're grinding out a few more yards.
Even with Utah -- their defense was mostly gassed. The pick 6 was likely the difference between a W and an L at that point in the game.
To me, at least, it has seemed that the game plan is "hammer the fuck out of them until they lose the will to fight, don't worry about scoring until their will is broken.. just keep them from scoring"
October 7th, 2015 at 7:51 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 12:52 PM ^
Who was paraphrasing his mentor Woody Hayes, "They can't win if they can't score!".
The operative phrase here is HARUGHBALL!
October 7th, 2015 at 5:32 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 7th, 2015 at 5:49 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 6:36 AM ^
Oddly enough Beathard's stats this season are similar to Rudock's!
October 7th, 2015 at 8:01 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 7th, 2015 at 8:16 AM ^
I thought the original comment was talking about last year. Last year Rudock's stats were similar (62%, 16 touchdowns, 5 picks, 7.1 yards/attempt) to Beathard's this year (64%, 7 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 7.9 yards/attempt). It's not a stretch to think Rudock would have improved again slightly with another year in a familiar setting, so I don't know how much anyone can say that Beathard is "better" than Rudock.
On a side note, I liked Iowa's current backup (Tyler Wiegers) when he was coming out of Detroit Country Day (he was Moe Ways's QB). He hasn't played a ton so far, but I think he'll be good for them in the future.
October 7th, 2015 at 6:12 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 6:31 AM ^
Just beat Northwestern. Go Blue!