Dear Diary is Better Than English
[jonvalk wallpaper]
On WTKA last week (before the Maryland game) the roundtablers got into a short discussion comparing Michigan's 2015 defense to, say, the 2006 one. Asgardian walked with it, comparing the M defense to others this year and some other great defenses by simply counting how many times they…
- Held opponent to 7 or fewer points, or
- Held opponents to 8-14 points, or
- Gave up 15 or more
I'm gonna go position by position. Argue any with me:
| Position | 2015 | Grd | 2006 | Grd | 1997 | Grd | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NT | Glasgow | A | Taylor | B+ | Renes | A- | |||
| DT/3T | Henry/Hurst/Godin | A- | Branch | A- | Williams | B | |||
| SDE/5T | Wormley/Taco | B+ | Biggs | C+ | Steele/Feazell | A | |||
| WDE/WLB | Ojemudia/RJS | B- | Woodley | A | J.Hall | A- | |||
| SAM/Nk | Peppers/Ross | A- | Crable | B+ | Copenhaver/Swett | B+ | |||
| MLB | Morgan | B+ | Harris | A | Sword | B+ | |||
| WLB/BKR | Bolden | C | Burgess | C | Dhani/Mayes | B | |||
| SS | Hill | B | Adams | B | Ray | B+ | |||
| FS | Wilson | B | Englemon | B- | Hendricks | B+ | |||
| BCB | 8/Clark/Peppers | B | Hall | A | Weathers | B- | |||
| FCB | Lewis | A | Trent | B- | Woodson | A+ | |||
| Nickel CB | Clark/Stribling | B | Harrison | C | Peterson | C+ | |||
| Scores | 2015 UM | 3.23 | 2006 UM | 3.08 | 1997 UM | 3.33 |
It's hard to compare eras (Peppers versus Clint Copenhaver!) but the 2006 defense didn't have enough depth at DB for the young spread era and that was its downfall. None of these defenses had any real holes; the 1997 defense didn't even have a spot that was less than really good (B).
I made a tool so you can try this with other defenses (be nice and don't sandbox where someone else is working). I got a 2.93 for this year's Northwestern and a 3.38 for 2013 Michigan State.
Now you're playing with….power rankings. Eye of the Tiger has been doing his own weekly ranking of Big Ten teams. He does this the way Brian does the "Fear Level" and "Desperate Need to Win Level" stuff in the previews, IE he starts with a baseline then gives a +2 for a win over a good team, –1 for a loss to a solid team, etc. Northwestern and Iowa are tops right now, though MSU has fallen behind Michigan.
Alum96 has kept up his version of this too, which informs by pointing out how wrong he was about things like Maryland being any good at football. And if you desire simple numbers instead of feels and backchecks, alum also has started posting the S&P+ rankings of M and the States.
Etc. Weekly reminder you should read B&W and ItBS. THE_KNOWLEDGE is from a future of a parallel universe in which people score on Michigan's defense sometimes.
[jump for the Most Lions Thing Ever]
Best of the Board
HARBAUGH PHOTOSH—
If you haven't clicked already you won't click anything in Dear Diary ever.
ON THE MOST LIONS THING EVER
I don't know what part of this to not quote. So here's the whole post except the gif isn't animating:
It is the most Lions thing ever. You've got ref screwjob, a stupid NFL rule, bad luck, a 1st round receiver, a hall of fame player being wasted, a dancing RB who could have blocked the guy who made the fumble happen, OMIGOD YOU FUMBLED OUT OF THE END ZONE ON THE WINNING PLAY, Statts Padford, moral victory, and a game they never should have been in because they played awful and seriously out-Lion this I dare you.
HASHTAG LOSE YOUR DIGNITY WITH ACE
Once Ace's ska band was outed on the internet, people felt a need to empty the skeletons from their closets in solidarity. Wolverine Devotee "wins" this by posting a picture of himself with a fanny pack.
The guy behind him promptly panicked and inserted a 3-3-5 defense. Another guy admitted to liking Pop Evil and omigod no being in a ska band in high school is not an embarrassing thing that is an embarrassing thing don't tell people that.
Also Dungeons and Dragons is cool and while I've only played it once I stand by this.
ETC. Getting the BAND back together. Reader-organized MGoTailgate still happening (we'll be at the Alumni Association Tailgate tomorrow). Recruiting is bad.
Your Moment of Zen
Watch this happen for another 60 years.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:01 PM ^
Barry Sanders is reading this and silently weeping but nodding his head in agreement
October 9th, 2015 at 1:36 PM ^
So this is more Lions than the Calvin Johnson catch ruled a non-catch a few years ago as time ran out in a different Lions loss? Too close to call, but definitely all Lions. I can still remember driving back to Ann Arbor as Dempsey hit his 63 yard field goal. Lions, Lions and more Lions.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:02 PM ^
Two grades jump out at me:
Burgess seems way too low.
Morgan seems a bit high.
Though not as obvious, I think Biggs was a little better than C+ I think.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:12 PM ^
I thought the opposite for Morgan when I first saw his grade. He's just been that valuable to this defense the past few years. Now I think that B+ is right where he should be with the only thing holding him back from an A is his lack of elite athleticism.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^
B+ is basically All Big Ten or close. I don't think Morgan is an All Big Ten Linebacker.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:32 PM ^
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October 9th, 2015 at 1:32 PM ^
6th round draft pick that sticks in the NFL for multiple seasons is probably better than a C grade - given how the other players have panned out a B seems more appropriate.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^
From CBS Sports:
In 2006, The NFL Draft Report recognized Branch's dominance in the middle, awarding the left defensive tackle All-American Dream Team honors. He added first-team All-Big Ten Conference recognition. The front wall allowed only 43.38 yards per game rushing, as opponents would score only five times on the ground. He collected 25 tackles (17 solos) with a pair of sacks, two pressures and six stops behind the line of scrimmage. He caused two fumbles, batted away two passes, intercepted another and recovered three fumbles.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:47 PM ^
the biggest reason why Branch fell in the draft despite the talent is his inconsistent effort level. When he's on, he's really good, but his effort level fluctuate throughout the game.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:07 PM ^
October 9th, 2015 at 1:11 PM ^
I agree with the B+!! He really was a force and helped significantly after Mayes was injured.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:12 PM ^
Hermann: B
English: B
Durkin: A (so far)
October 9th, 2015 at 1:13 PM ^
Did you actually see the 1997 defense? Those grades are way too low. I also agree with the comment that Biggs was better than your grade. I was so stunned by the 97 grades I couldn't read any further. Back to work. And don't forget Ian Gold was on the 97 team, and actually played.
October 9th, 2015 at 2:37 PM ^
| How to Score |
| A+: Best defensive player in the country (Woodson) |
| A: So good you can do unsound things elsewhere. (Dave Harris) |
| A-: Excellent player, borderline All-American (Sam Sword) |
| B+: Consensus All-B1G (Desmond Morgan, precisely) |
| B: All-B1G like (Dhani Jones in 1997) |
| B-: Good. (Andre Weathers) |
| C+: Does more than okay (Henry if he was wasn't part of a rotation) |
| C: Does okay. (Bolden) |
| C-: Does mostly okay (JT Floyd) |
| D+: Occasional liability (Mouton as Sr) |
| D: Liabiilty but still useful (James Rogers) |
| D-: Useful in only certain things (Freshman Courtney Avery) |
| E: Mostly a liability (really, you want to keep talking GERG-era DBs?) |
|
F: fffffff (Alright you asked: Cissoko) |
Nobody on the '97 defense scored lower than a B except nickel, which they barely used. I thought I was pretty fair.
October 9th, 2015 at 4:14 PM ^
Picked the wrong day to stop drinking.
October 9th, 2015 at 6:33 PM ^
I appreciate your taking the time to reply, and this helps me understand the grades. Now I have to take up the grading system,
October 9th, 2015 at 5:13 PM ^
October 9th, 2015 at 1:13 PM ^
I know A+ is the highest grade possible, but Woodson is beyond the possible, so there should be a higher grade for him.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:27 PM ^
He's like getting 100% in AP Calculus--should be weighted as a 4.33 or higher.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:36 PM ^
(A+)^3
The guy was 3 dimensional
Offense, Defense, Special Teams
October 9th, 2015 at 2:35 PM ^
The highest possible GPA you can have is a 4.0,
Woodson scored a 4.3.
We're done here.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:26 PM ^
- New Ownership. The Ford family has repeatedly hired under-qualified, overwhlemed candidates at every level of the organization. Jim Caldwell IS the NFL version of Brady Hoke (I could write an entire post on how eerily similar these two are). Martin Mayhew worked on Matt Millen's staff. Joe Lombardi's only coordinator experience came at Mercyhurst College. Yeah, I've never heard of Mercyhurst either. Things won't get better without more competence in the front office and on the coaching staff.
- New GM. Martin Mayhew hasn't done everything wrong (see Roy Williams trade) but he his drafts have been average at best (second round has been a tire fire), and he has not managed the cap well. It's nearly impossible to be a winner when you're always at the top of the draft, thought that is changing now with the draft-slot salary structure. But his biggest error? Hiring Jim Caldwell. Jeff Ireland, Tom Heckert, and Scott Pioli would all be potential fits here. Ireland has a great drafting track record, Heckert has experience as a GM (and actually did pretty well with the Browns) and is now part of a winning culture in Denver, and Pioli lost his job because he screwed-up the QB situation--which can happen to literally any GM.
- New Coaches. This is the toughest, but most important change. For now, I would make Teryl Austin the interim HC and see how he does--if we don't, he's likely going to be hired by someone next year anyway. He would immediately fire Lombardi and hire Joe Philbin, who could implement Green Bay's offense, which I believe Stafford could conduct well and would boost our running game.
Unfortunately, these probably need to happen in reverse order. But promoting Teryl Austin and hiring Joe Philbin would be a good start.
Seriously, how does Caldwell keep his job, considering he is an offensive coach whose team can't score points with Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Tim Wright, Ameer Abdullah, Eric Ebron (now injured), etc.?
Caldwell is the epitome of a Lions coach: a resume just good enough to get hired and mediocre enough not to get fired until he's done real damage to the organizaiton.
I wish I could somehow become a fan of another NFL team, but I can't. I love the Lions, and I am therefore doomed to NFL misery until the Fords sell the team or get lucky with a GM/Coach that are competent despite being approved by the Fords.
I will leave you with this quote from Bill Ford, Jr., which tells you all you need to know:
"I'm willing to stake my reputation on Matt Millen's success [as a GM]."
October 9th, 2015 at 1:33 PM ^
New GM, New Coach, Some 1st round picks due to crap record, hype, rebuild year(s), sniff playoffs, lose, back to losing records, REPEAT FOREVER
October 9th, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
he had a bad luck of inherting 3 consecutive 1st round picks under the old CBA rules which awards rookies a massive contract. The fact they hit on all three picks in CJ, Stafford and Suh exacberate the cap situation. No way any other GMs can make it work with a lot less cap space considering three are franchise type players.
October 9th, 2015 at 3:49 PM ^
Wish I could pick another NFL team to love, but I've loved the Lions since before I can remember. There are also those moments of satisfaction when fans of other teams tell me "I'm really rooting for the Lions this year" (like last year when we were decent), only for me to tell them that "I was a fan when we were 0-16, we don't need any bandwagon fans, thanks anyways". Sure it makes me look like a giant prick, but if we ever do win the Super Bowl I will give a big eff you to every fan of every team except the Lions. Gotta stay true to my Saginaw assholeness I guess. Anyways here's to hoping that the Lions can get their shit together at home vs Arizona and finally pull out a w on Sunday!
October 9th, 2015 at 1:29 PM ^
Am I the only one surprised that Brian has only played Dungeons and Dragons once?
I played throughout middle school. True to stereotype, we stopped playing when the Dungeon Master got a girlfriend. Yeah, he was the only one us.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:30 PM ^
is an A- for Dhani blended with a B-/C+ for Mayes?
October 9th, 2015 at 5:17 PM ^
October 9th, 2015 at 5:22 PM ^
Something like that.
And to the other guy: Gold played behind Sword for the most part. I wrapped his snaps into that.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:31 PM ^
It would be interesting to see how the stellar 1985 defense stacks up, on its 30 year anniversary. (Plus Harbaugh was QB of the offense and the team finished AP #2 that year.)
October 9th, 2015 at 1:37 PM ^
October 9th, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
There is no comment beyond the subject as nothing more is needed
October 9th, 2015 at 1:45 PM ^
October 9th, 2015 at 2:38 PM ^
That's a statement about how good Glasgow has been. Also Renes was even better in '98.
October 9th, 2015 at 6:37 PM ^
It is true that Renes came on with each additional year, to the point he was a monster against Alabama (at least that is the way I remember it, including one play that somehow was deleted from the Alabama game film. I am sure that is why I can't find it.)
October 9th, 2015 at 7:08 PM ^
No, that's a statement that you've massively overrated Glasgow and underrated Williams and Renes. Maybe I don't understand what you're saying.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^
No truer words have been spoken, perhaps in the history of the English language.
EDIT: YES.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:43 PM ^
there's a reason why the rule exist in the first place. What if there's a scrum on a loose ball and a player batted it out of the end zone to prevent a TD and get a safety instead?
People forget that Dave Casper Holy Roller play is precisely why the rule exist.
October 9th, 2015 at 1:48 PM ^
I BELIEVE
October 9th, 2015 at 2:21 PM ^
Steele should be A+. For him to be the equivalent of Glasgow is an insult. Glasgow would feel insulted for Steele. Steele did what he wanted when he wanted (at least the way I remember it)
I'd give Ray an A-, though we're splicing at that point
Also, Renes > = Glasgow (for now--let's see what Glasgow does the rest of the season)
October 9th, 2015 at 2:39 PM ^
Is your handle giving Ezeh a score?
October 9th, 2015 at 4:12 PM ^
October 9th, 2015 at 5:11 PM ^
October 9th, 2015 at 5:23 PM ^
And is there a name more fun to say than "Clint Copenhaver"?
October 9th, 2015 at 7:07 PM ^
He's from my hometown!
Went to school with his brother. Hard to imagine anyone bigger than his older brother, but he sure was.
October 9th, 2015 at 6:02 PM ^
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October 9th, 2015 at 6:04 PM ^
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October 9th, 2015 at 6:00 PM ^
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October 9th, 2015 at 10:13 PM ^
I'm late to this (as usual), but I had to say no one will ever convince me that 2013 Michigan St defense should get a higher rating than 1997 Michigan. I can't believe no one complained about this before me. I know we're rating the individuals here rather than the unit as a whole, but still...
October 10th, 2015 at 8:22 AM ^
Subjective and not definite. I've been tweaking since.
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