Unverified Voracity Forgot About Siller Comment Count

Brian

These have nothing to do with anything. But you can get Revenge of the Nerds glasses in the MGoStore.

Oh shiiiii… So yesterday I noted that Purdue starting quarterback Robert Marve had been knocked out for the year with a torn ACL, and suggested that Michigan was less likely to lose that game now. I was terribly, terribly wrong:

Robert Marve is no longer an option at quarterback. I would argue that his effectiveness was unfortunately limited to poor line play against Notre Dame, then he was banged up from the Western Illinois game on. That leaves Rob Henry as the presumptive starter. He is not the only option, however. Justin Siller has three starts at quarterback in his career. Could he be a better choice?

Purdue: Robert Henry, Purdue, Robert "Rob" Henry. Purdue: he is awesome and made of ninja stars and if you think about starting anyone else I will find the World's Most Medium-Sized Drum and blast it into the Pacific Ocean with a river of tears and this will not go well for anyone and I'll probably get very dehydrated. Just say no to Siller.

If I have to make a Hitler video that starts off with the guy pointing at the map and saying "Marve transferred from Miami and was entrenched as a starter and tore his ACL" and then Hitler saying "fine, fine, Robert "Rob" Henry is a redshirt freshman with only decent mobility, we'll be fine" and then the guy saying "Mein Brimley, Purdue has installed Justin Siller as their quarterback" and then the ensuing and ceremonial Losing Of The Shit, I totally will. And I won't like it.

He is the sun and the moon and the stars. Tom Brady/Lloyd Christmas fan. He hugged Denard. He showed up for Colin Cowherd. He's aquaman2342's avatar. People made gentle fun of his hair and compared him to the aforementioned dudes. I got like six billion emails from someone who must be his mother complaining about the gentle poking of fun. But we like him, don't we? He is everywhere, and he's always really happy about Michigan. His haircut is charmingly reminiscent of the guy who's (still, for now) the best Michigan quarterback of our lives.

He is so everywhere that I'm just innocently watching this RAWK-laden official site video of Michigan's top kick returns ever and BAM, I'm saying there's a chance at 2:02:

Lloyd Brady has been happy everywhere. It is at this point that he is photoshopped into historical situations that he's really happy about, like an inverted Stunned Aggie.

More Lewan. Woo!

"During film, he was wearing sweatpants, a fedora and a sweatervest with no shirt on underneath," Van Bergen said at the press conference, rolling his eyes.

He's like an enormous Tressel who uses his power for mustaches and good. Q: there are Michigan players with twitter accounts. Why on earth did this not get a twitpic?

Financial what? So… whenever people talk about going to a nine game schedule they cite the financial considerations that make it difficult. Example:

"I know our fans want to see more Big Ten games," Delany told the Tribune. "Our TV partners want to see more Big Ten games. But if we can't finance our programs, it's not going to happen."

I'm not so convinced. Situations, assuming that PSL fees do not apply (reasonable since they don't change based on number of home games):

Home and home with real program. One game, 100k people, 50 bucks each = 5 million dollars.
Two games against tomato cans. Two games, 200k people, 50 bucks each = 10 million dollars – 1.5 million for payouts  = 8.5 million dollars.

That's 1.75 million per year, but it doesn't take into account the increased TV value of games against real teams, the increased attractiveness of season tickets when you have a real opponent in the nonconference (more relevant now that schools are charging close to what the market will bear and that seats are sometimes going unsold), and the various intangible wow factors that contribute to the bottom line. (In college, the bottom line is program prestige, wins, and losses, not money).

The problem has been that when Michigan schedules a killer nonconference game the money from TV goes to… the conference. Indiana makes just as much money from Michigan-ND as Michigan makes from Indiana-Towson. This severely reduces the incentive to schedule real opponents since you take all the risk of a loss and get zero gain relative to your conference-mates. But if you force the entire conference to add real games against each other and you own a network far more interested in televising Iowa-Wisconsin than four versions of Indiana-Towson, then the financial differences quickly tilt in favor of actual games. The bottom of the conference doesn't get to buy body-bag games, remember: IU just played at WKU.

I don't think financial considerations are going to be a major factor. It's close enough to a wash that a home/road imbalance and complaints from the IUs of the world about bowl eligibility will be more important.

Point Griese. Brian Griese was generic during the broadcast of the BGSU game but this is an interesting point that I've thought to myself but never though I'd hear an analyst drop:

“The ability to approach the line of scrimmage with the threat of running and (him) being able to throw those balls off-balance, that’s so hard on a defense,” Griese said. “Guys are wide open because of him.”

One of the many things that make Denard ridiculous is his ability to go from run to throw in no time flat. See the Roundtree touchdown against Notre Dame or the "Anything Tate Can Do I Can Do Better" improv in that same game. Accuracy from odd body angles makes his play action even more deadly than it would otherwise be.

Etc.: Some guy in the media says Michigan and BYU are talking about a home and home, which like okay. I'll take anything against a real program. Doubtful this ever comes to fruition, just because. "Staunch wave hater" and BG fan credits M with a "mad fun series," which is true. Michigan's wave is one of the hidden joys in sports. Michigan attendance has been more resilient than FSU's. Dreaded Judgment writes on the "why do I care about this?" question.

Comments

timtebro

September 30th, 2010 at 10:47 AM ^

..... please do it! If you got the time and wanna give some some laughs... it would be nice... i'm curious to see what some fellow boilermakers would to say it. thanks again!

Logan88

September 30th, 2010 at 11:22 AM ^

Siller was Purdue's 3rd string QB and 2nd string RB. He only made the start against UM because Purdue's 1st and 2nd stringers were injured and they had no other option. He was more of a Denard-like player in that he was only about 6 feet tall and 190-200 lbs. and that simply wasn't the kind of QB Purdue generally used.

Purdue put up 522 yards of total offense in the game. Siller was 21 of 34 for 266 yards, 3 TD's and 0 INT's in the air and ran 15 times for 77 yards and 1 TD on the ground. UM also chose this week to make in ill-fated move to a 3-3-5 defense which they had not run all season which I am sure contributed to Siller/Purdue's offensive success as the defense looked completely clueless.

As for why they went back to the other QB's when they were healthy....I can't really answer that question except that Stiller was not a "traditional" type QB and Purdue apparently preferred the bigger, stronger armed QB type, I guess.

Seth

September 30th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^

Read the Defensive UFR from Purdue 2008.

Going into the 2008 game, Justin Siller was supposedly a walk-on DEATH option at Purdue, a la Nick Sheridan, except he never beat out anything Threet-like, ever. Siller was the last man standing in a Purdue QB three-deep which, at the time, essentially listed the guy eating fat free pretzels in Row 4 as the backup quarterback, and many fans were wondering if that guy might be a better option.

Then we played the game. Boubacar Cissoko (mostly) and the rest of our cornerbacks inexplicably left out-routes open all day, and Siller ran and threw and basically looked more like Tate Forcier than Nick Sheridan. It was awful. It was the reason I still don't trust Gibson as our secondary coach, and have since been searching carefully for something concrete with which I can declare him a DeBordean cronie who needs to go.

On one of the precious few days that Michigan's 2008 team was able to sustain any offense whatsoever, the 3-3-5's first deployment under Rich Rod became Justin Siller's Sheridan-at-Minnesota life apex.

Considering these bad memories, and on Purdue's side the fact that Siller is still Sheridan essentially, not to mention Cook's mental health which has not been entirely stable sinch the sould-dong punching, it is better for all involved that Robert "Rob" be the starter.

Logan88

September 30th, 2010 at 11:12 AM ^

Two random thoughts that popped into my head while reading this entry:

1) Taylor Lewan must be a closet OSU fan. The kid wears a fedora (Earle Bruce) and a sweatervest (Tressel). Clearly he has a secret infatuation with OSU's head coaches. If he starts speaking with a Tennessee accent (Cooper) or like he just had a stroke (Hayes), I say we ship his ass off to Siberia.

2) I kind of hope Indiana wins 5 games this season with one of the losses being a nailbiter to Penn State by 3 points or so. IU sold their home game against PSU this season for a nice cash money payout to play at a neutral site (in D.C. IIRC) probably assuming that they would have no chance of beating the Nittany Lions anyway. With the way PSU is playing right now, I think IU might have had a reasonable shot to beat PSU in Bloomington. It would serve them right if they missed out on a bowl game because of their AD's lame money grab.

MGoShoe

September 30th, 2010 at 12:28 PM ^

...Lewan learned the true meaning of irony in class this semester.  OTOH, to feed your closet OSU fan conspiracy theory, Lewan is from AZ and Cooper coached at ASU before OSU (coaching the Sun Devils team that defeated U-M in the 1987 Rose Bowl 22-15).

MGlobules

September 30th, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^

(love their women's soccer team but hey). I have been quietly enjoying all manner of schadenfreude the last few seasons as that miserable wanker Bobby Bowden was given a million dollar raise the same week my wife, an FSU prof, was asked to screw the lightbulb out of her office CEILING to save electricity for the U (later she lost her telephone, too; he just lost games.)

But I have changed my tune. Because the city loses millions in revenue every football weekend where attendance is low and you realize--like it or not--that both city and U have so f'ing much invested in football--infrastructure, advertising, surrounding hoopla--that lots of working people get badly dinged when they suck. 

This is the steep downside of college football at lots of other schools, one I never witnessed growing up in A2. 

Interestingly, FAMU's football stadium (also in Tally) continues to fill up. Loyalty, and love of their amazing band, still draws the crowds. Perhaps there is a lesson in there somewhere. 

.ghost.

September 30th, 2010 at 12:22 PM ^

Epic find.  No way this is not him.  If he is that big of a fan, he is most likely here on mgoblog, watching the fable surrounding his mystique steadily grow.  Smile, Lloyd Brady.  You are our mascot.

lunchboxthegoat

September 30th, 2010 at 11:24 AM ^

1. I am disappointed that BGSU blogger (wasn't aware they existed) said this was the 'quietest 110,000' or whatever number he used. I thought we were much louder this year than yeras past.

 

2. there is no wave like the U of M wave. Amazing feat that makes me smile and shake my head in awe every time I see it. and i've seen it a lot...

ish

September 30th, 2010 at 11:36 AM ^

FWIW, a co-worker/longtime purdue booster insists that siller won't play qb and was told he lost that privilege when he was reinstated.  i hope that's right, but let's be real - if he's better than henry, they'll probably play him.

GoBlueInNYC

September 30th, 2010 at 11:48 AM ^

From what I understand about Siller's ability (I apparently have completely blocked out the 2008 Purdue game from my mind, and thus don't remember Siller's performance at all), shouldn't UM's defense practicing against Denard help to shut down Siller?  That and the fact that the defense won't be debuting a new scheme this time around, is Siller really that big of a threat or just compared to the alternative?

EDIT: I realize the Purdue game is a long way off and Siller hasn't even gotten the starting nod, just thinking hypothetically.

BlockM

September 30th, 2010 at 11:45 AM ^

I don't remember too many details about that Purdue game except for the hook and ladder play at the end. (That was the game Siller started, right?) Somehow Siller's name still instills as much fear in me as Juice's. Such a frustrating game.

DoctorDave

September 30th, 2010 at 11:45 AM ^

[Taylor Lewan is] like an enormous Tressel who uses his power for mustaches and good.

Apparently he's been watching the Lion King. And it does matter, because he's changing the past (for mustaches and good).

JClay

September 30th, 2010 at 12:00 PM ^

If the MGoStore can't sell player related shirts, could we see if Lloyd Brady will allow us to use his image for a new T? Maybe him in the denard hug pose with a caption "Hug It Out"? The sales would fund the server for a year.

M-Wolverine

September 30th, 2010 at 12:03 PM ^

(In college, the bottom line is program prestige, wins, and losses, not money).

Then isn't prestige usually a product of wins....and then, don't more wins come from cupcakes than an additional Big Ten game? It seems if the goal is prestige, it's another knock against an additional conference game, not a plus.

WolverBean

September 30th, 2010 at 12:38 PM ^

I think many of us fans feel it is (that the bottom line is wins and prestige), but I often worry that those who run the show don't make a clear distinction between the two -- or don't agree in the first place.  I think this is particularly true as the budgets of athletic departments get larger, and more and more athletic departments (including our own) are run by businessmen rather than former coaches.

robpollard

September 30th, 2010 at 12:09 PM ^

The Cal Bears rugby (25 ntl championships since 1980!), baseball, gymnastics and women's lacrosse teams would like to dispute, "In college, the bottom line is program prestige, wins, and losses, not money."

 

Cal Bears football doesn't make enough money, ergo Cal is going down to 24 funded-sports.  U of M football DOES make a lot of money, ergo Michigan has 27 (and would have a couple more if not for Title IX equity requirements).

http://www.mercurynews.com/cal-bears/ci_16197819

zlionsfan

September 30th, 2010 at 2:23 PM ^

behind a guy who got about one-third of his receiving yards this year on a pass that deflected into his hands when he was running at full speed while a Ball State defensive back attempted to use the Force to break up the play.

In 2008, QB Boilers had a starting RB and a healthy receiving corps. That is not the case this year. Also, in 2008, Michigan did not have a QB made of dilithium. Siller could start, I suppose, but I really don't think it's going to matter. Siller can pull out a giant brain ray gun and say "ALL YOUR 2008 ARE BELONG TO US", but that won't stop Mike Martin from sweeping the field with Siller's alien body.

TESOE

September 30th, 2010 at 12:15 PM ^

LOL...this brings me joy...

Lewan is known for being very aggressive. He said he was often flagged for excessive blocking — "I don't even know if that's a rule" — which seems to be a penalty invented specifically for players like him.

 

His aggression has also shown itself in practice, apparently. Lewan has been in multiple fights during practice or, as he calls them, "this awkward, wrestling-tugging thing that never goes anywhere."

 

yossarians tree

September 30th, 2010 at 2:42 PM ^

Whoever came up with "Lloyd Brady" is pure genius--it works on so many levels, not the least of which is the Michigan football meme. I look at the kids' picture and I just can't stop laughing. Pissing myself laughing!

I firmly believe this is a sign. Lloyd Brady is our Zelig, our Forrest Gump, the One who appears like John the Baptist to announce the arrival of the Savior...who is, of course...

YOU KNOW WHO

bronxblue

September 30th, 2010 at 12:18 PM ^

With respect to 9 conference games, the complaints of IU, Illinois, etc. will always win out because power conferences care more about bowl games and the financial payouts/exposure those provide as opposed to more conference games.  If OSU plays IU 100 times, 99 of them will go to the Buckeyes.  So that is an automatic loss for IU, as are games against UM, PSU, Iowa, and Wiscy.  So right there, you have 5 losses out of 12 games most years, and those odds won't improve when Nebraska enters the conference.  The top teams wouldn't really care because they are going to be bowl eligible and a game against Western is about the same as a game against Minny at this point.  By allowing teams like IU, Purdue, and Minny play tomato cans, though, you give those teams a chance to qualify for some meaningless bowl game, which means another check for the conference and a chance for a meh team to be featured on ESPN for a night.  Prestige and wins might mean something on paper, but conferences need to be advocates for all of their members, including those teams toward the bottom.