Unverified Voracity Is Getting A Call From Mom Comment Count

Brian

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wait, what? – Caleb TerBush

Yikes. Michigan is a mere three-point favorite against Purdue this weekend, which seems mighty narrow to me. I may be assuming that Denard Robinson does not turn the ball over five times, which Vegas is not. Boo 2012 Notre Dame game, boo.

Purdue's coming off a not-as-close-as-you-think game against Marshall in which they led 42-14 at halftime before yielding three touchdowns in the first 18 minutes of the second half and allowing the Herd to get within ten points. They traded touchdowns in the final 12 minutes, and that was the final margin. Marshall's lost to Ohio and beat Rice in two OTs; they've got the worst scoring D in the country at the moment, and they outgained Purdue by 91 yards. If Michigan only wins by three I'll be expecting bad things the rest of the season. Purdue QB Caleb TerBush was ineffective against ND (8 of 19, 79 yards, 1 TD/2 INT) and was pulled for a considerably better Robert Marve. Marve won't be available.

So what I'm saying is that at first blush I don't like the spread, which makes me feel both sad and alarmed because it's the best predictor available. I would like to avoid posting this at any point over the weekend:

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Beyer's back. The most newsy bit of the press conference:

How’s your team’s health?

“There ya go. You know, I think Beyer will be back. Brandon Moore will be close. He’s getting better.”

Richard Ash?

“Richard is better. Uh there’s one more, too.”

Hopkins?

“Hop’s fine. Devin’s fine. They all practiced last night. Yeah Ricky Barnum was a little -- sore shoulder. He was fine last night. So with the guys who aren’t out for the year, the rest of them are okay.”

Marvin Robinson?

“He was better. He ran around last night and he feels much better.”

Beyer was walking around in an air cast after his injury and I was a little worried he might be laid up for a long time, which would have been bad. The options at WDE were a major target for ND and didn't do so well. Beyer at least gives them another option at the spot. Clark makes more plays you notice, but I'll bet a nickel Beyer is less likely to get caved in and give up the edge.

Also, feel free to infer that Brink is out for the year from the above.

Also also, this:

Are you worried that Denard is what he is, i.e. not improving in your system?

“No. Not at all. I mean, he’s our quarterback, and he’s a damned good quarterback. I didn’t say that, so don’t write that. No we’re very comfortable and we’re very confident in him. … I know you’re going to write that.”

I will.

“Daggone it. My mom’s going to read that and get mad.”

She doesn’t think you swear?

“Why don’t you just ask a question.”

And you're fired and you're fired and you're fired. Extreme media hostility isn't just for Los Angeles anymore:

Tuesday, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier finally spoke with his media after two days of giving an opening statement and then refusing to field questions.

What has Spurrier so irked? Apparently columnist Ron Morris — again.

Ron Morris is a columnist at The State in South Carolina and has become Spurrier's nemesis. Last October, Spurrier called out Morris for something he wrote in the spring regarding then-basketball player Bruce Ellington and how Spurrier persuaded Ellington to play football.

This time, according to Saturday Down South, Spurrier seems to be mad about a Morris column that questioned playing quarterback Connor Shaw against UAB. Shaw, who has been nursing an injured shoulder he suffered in the season opener against Vanderbilt, injured the shoulder again against the Blazers.

The excerpt from the column that follows is pretty tame (also: dumb). Spurrier is accused of a "poor decision" to play Connor Shaw with a dinged shoulder, which he re-injured in the game. The column is just another tossed-off nothing (Shaw was 20 of 21 against Missouri), but apparently this business goes back a ways. Be chill, OBC.

Meanwhile, a local news station axed the guy's weekly segment, causing free speech rabbling.

Meanwhile in local media situations. Meinke is writing articles based off of his viewing of Inside Michigan Football. Interesting ones, even. Here's Mattison on Morgan defending that goddamned counter draw:

Mattison said he was most impressed by Morgan's discipline, specifically citing one counter draw play on which the sophomore could have pursued the ball, but elected to stay home as he was taught.

The play came back to him, and he made the tackle.

"We gave him that play probably four times in practice, and every time we gave it to him, we said, 'Desmond, you've got to stay home. You can't help on that sprint anyhow,'" Mattison said. "Well that same thing has happened before and he would go running and try to make the play because he's a young guy eager to make plays.

"All of the sudden, in this game, he became more of a veteran."

And Mattison on Raymon Taylor:

"Raymon has really improved," defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said this week on the Inside Michigan Football radio show. "He has been thrown in the fire. If someone would have said to me at the beginning of the year, 'Will he be starting against Notre Dame?' I don't know if I would have said yes.

"(But) I was really proud of him how he played. He knows he's got a lot of things he has to get better at, but one thing he didn't do was shy away from anything. He competed."

I'm not sure you can do that. In yet another NHL draft ranking, Chris Peters tackles prospects 26-50. D Michael Downing and F Tyler Motte show up, FWIW, but I'm most intrigued by this construction:

49. Tyler Motte - C - U.S. National Under-18 Team (USHL) - 5-9, 190

When at his best, he's an offensively dynamic talent. Good speed, solid strength despite a smallish frame, and good finish around the net make him an intriguing prospect. Motte has had a problem with consistency, which he has a whole season to prove isn't a problem anymore.

Lloyd Carr feels you, Mr. Peters. Also, yes please 5-9 kid good enough to be a second rounder. Needs moar tiny scoring machines at Yost.

Nice concourse. Wow:

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That's quite a difference from last year. Also the zambonis have studded tires now. Yost Built is back to posting, BTW. The Blue/White game scheduled for next Sunday will be a start-studded even thanks to the NHL lockout.

Etc.: UMHoops previews Jordan Morgan and Matt Vogrich. AP Mealer article is everywhere. Trey Burke is a third-team All-American to the Sporting News. Baumgardner on Burke. Weinreb on Holgo and the WVU-Baylor game. Michigan hasn't sucked after byes.

Comments

Lionsfan

October 2nd, 2012 at 2:29 PM ^

Hoke's non-answers in pressers are annoying, but if the alternative is acting like Spurrier or Kiffin have....well I'll take "He has a boo-boo" anyday

Blue boy johnson

October 2nd, 2012 at 2:31 PM ^

I love how so many of these young guys on the D come in and compete, Bolden, Ross, Taylor, Morgan, Ryan, Clark, Countess, Ojemudia, Wilson, all Soph's or Freshman. Future is very bright. Look out Purdue

UMaD

October 2nd, 2012 at 5:07 PM ^

I think it's worth differentiating young players who are playing well vs young players who are playing by default.  Young kids playing in the secondary in '10 wasn't a good sign of anything.

Bolden, Ross, Ryan, and to some extent Wilson play ahead of veterans, seemingly 'earning' playing-time via ability (rather than attrition/ability-induced opportunity).  Countess and Ryan outplayed incumbants and performed at a high level last year.  Bolden and Ross are playing alongside Demens and Morgan (who are solid) and are ahead of Hawthorne (serviceable).  Morgan (last year) played mostly by default, as WLB was a position of weakness, but with each game he proves himself to be a quality player.

I take it as a good sign for Wilson that the coaches seem to prefer him to Robinson or Furman (though the positions are a little different.)

Ojemudia and Clark and Beyer - we'll see.  There are glimpses, but without established competiton for them at WDE it's hard to say if they'll be good.  So far, they're not, but they're young obviously.

Taylor is playing due to attrition, so we can't say too much about him either.

I'd say our LB group looks to be a strength for the next couple years.  DL needs a lot and the secondary is unknown, but Countess and Wilson have both recruiting pedigree and early confidence of coaches, which seems like an excellent starting point.  Besides that, we're still going on recruiting-hype HOPE for guys like Pipkins, Ojemudia, Richardson, etc.

Blue boy johnson

October 2nd, 2012 at 5:27 PM ^

I basically agree with you, with the exception, I think Frank Clark already is a good player, and will only get better. I love playmakers and Clark is a playmaker.

I am looking forward to see Purdue run their quick passes and bubble screens against M, and Raymon Taylor in particular. Not sure how Taylor will perform, but he will compete, and he will fight off blocks. Whether he is consistently making tackles remains to be seen, but it won't be from lack of effort, or any sort of cautiousness or hesitation.

UMaD

October 2nd, 2012 at 9:09 PM ^

With Washington and Campbell being less important against a spread team, we'll see more from our ends.  It'll be a good chance for guys like Black, Clark, Ojemudia and maybe Beyer to show what they can do.  I don't think Clark is a good player yet, but he seems off to a good start and has shown ability, obviously.

jamiemac

October 2nd, 2012 at 2:31 PM ^

So, Brian, it sounds like your sudden desire to gamble on football you mentioned a couple of weeks ago continues to grow. Come over to the dark side. You never lose with pocket aces over here. Uh, trust me, thats the ticket.

Love Michigan, laying the field goal.....and those Boilers are now 5/1 to win the Big 10, while UM is 3.5/1. Braska is the current +180 chalk, btw.

WolverineHistorian

October 2nd, 2012 at 2:36 PM ^

I was mostly watching the tale of two evils (OSU vs. MSU) but I switched  to Purdue/Marshall when I could.  Marshall had a chance to close within 3 with 4 minutes left in the game but threw an incomplete pass on 4th & goal from the 5 yard line.  So the score stayed 51-41.  In the end, the difference in the game were the two pick-6's Purdue scored in the first half.

I felt a little better about the Purdue game after seeing how much their defense struggled with Marshall.  I think we'll be fine as long as Denard doesn't throw a hundred interceptions. 

M-Wolverine

October 2nd, 2012 at 2:59 PM ^

Than playing a ND team that in turn beat Michigan and Michigan State? Not saying I wouldn't like to win by more than 3; just that it doesn't necessarily mean a game on the road there should automatically be a blow out.

For fun, it is possible Meinke is viewing his radio listening device while taking notes, but he's referring the the Inside Michigan Football Radio program, not the TV show, so I have my doubts. (Other than a segment highlighting them, do the coordinator ever appear on the TV show? I wish they did).

And following up Defensewins, does anyone think Anthony Michael Hall made some sweet, sweet love to a Dutch weightlifted 20 years ago, and then left her to raise their future football playing son?

ppToilet

October 2nd, 2012 at 6:17 PM ^

and it is great.  I thought the new mammoth scoreboard was too low last year and I think they've pulled it higher up.  I think it will be really loud in there, particularly if the stands reverberate from the new aluminum.

If anyone hasn't been in a while, this would be a good year to pick up some tickets for a game just to see how great a job they did in the renovation.

bronxblue

October 2nd, 2012 at 4:20 PM ^

Bring on the meme-tastic Boilermakers!

Honestly, doesn't feel nearly as scary after they played ND and we all thought that offense would be unstoppable.  The front line of Purdue is fine, and I'm sure that secondary will pick of a Denard pass if he isn't careful, but I've not seen anything out of them that makes me think that they'll be able to hang with an offensively-competent UM team. 

Hardware Sushi

October 2nd, 2012 at 6:14 PM ^

I checked out MichiganHockeyNet and Yost Built but have yet to see a photo where you can see what they did with the banners - it looks like some of them are turned sideways (facing the penalty boxes) in the top of this picture:

If anyone can get pics of the new banner layout, I would really appreciate it. I always liked the setup; the rows of banners looked awesome in Yost and still do at the Joe:

Michigan4Life

October 2nd, 2012 at 7:19 PM ^

Purdue starting CBs.  Ricardo Allen is one player that no one has heard but should hear once the NFL draft season starts.  He is a stud and is the best CB in the B1G. 

Here is his scouting report by Russ Lande who is a former NFL scouting director:

3. Ricardo Allen Junior Purdue 5090 (Estimated) 186 (Estimated) 4.45 (Estimated) Projected second round pick A star player since he showed up in West Lafayette, Allen has the package of skills to carry over his success to the NFL level. Outstanding foot quickness combines with Allen’s agility and flexibility to give him a very tight, quick and compact backpedal. Equally adept at transitioning out of pedal to close on passes as he is turning and running to stay on receiver’s hip in “trail” coverage makes him more valuable because of that versatility. Allen has the playing speed to stay on even the fastest receiver’s hip deep down the field. His aggressive mentality combined with his ball skills have enabled Allen to break-up and intercept passes that many defensive backs would not even try to. If Allen chooses to come out early he would likely be a second round pick and could work his way into the first round with a strong showing in the spring.

The other CB,

Joshua Johnson is almost equally as good as Allen but he isn't the athlete that Allen is. He is short and physical CB, but plays with sound techniques.

Throw in Kwann Short who is considered to be a 1st round pick.  Purdue starting defense is better than most people think.  However, outside the three of them, they aren't as good or athletic which means that Michigan must get their ground game going.  If they have to rely on Denard passing the ball against two quality CBs, Michigan may be in trouble.

ForeverVoyaging

October 2nd, 2012 at 9:02 PM ^

I agree with you, but from a different angle. I don't really think Denard's interception troubles have much to do with opposing CB's coverage skills. We just saw him derp it up against an extremely shaky Notre Dame secondary. I'm more concerned about Purdue's ability to bring pressure, which always seems to lead to bad decisions by Denard.

The question is can Michigan's (mediocre) recievers get open - at all - against Purdue. Remember Alabama?