It's not that bad
The board is about to explode with frustration, but let's keep it real. It was a road game, at night, against an undefeated opponent. Yes there're a lot of things to be frustrated over, but there are also a lot of things to be happy about. Let's try to keep it balanced and keep some perspective.
- Denard?!? Why? It was "Tate Time"! Why wasn't Tate in the game during Tate Time? Because he was playing like crap on the previous drives he had. Because RR is looking at the longview and has to teach his Freshman QB's to do it the right way. Because he threw an interception in OT last week. Who's to say he wouldn't have done exactly the same thing Denard did? If Tate had been in and thrown a game killing INT two weeks in a row, the same people on here screaming for tate now would have been screaming for denard. Also Denard had just led a successful TD drive under pressure. (personally I was worried we would run out of time, more than we would throw an INT)
- OMG TURNOVERS!! Yeah, that kind of sucked. But Iowa is actually really good at forcing turnovers, so it's not that unexpected. Instead of freaking out about the turnovers, realize that even being -4, we still managed to stay within 2 points of a pretty darn good team. Yes it's frustrating, but it also shows that our players have good resilience to come back from those kind of emotional swings. Last year we woulda folded like superman on laundry day. We're only one year removed from a 3-9 year, you can't expect us to be world beaters just yet. We're young, We're learning, and we're going to get better.
- Why does the O-Line suck??? Uhm, no. No. It just played an awesome game against a pretty awesome D-line. Iowa's D-line was twisting and stunting all night, and the line gave our QB's enough time to win.
- Why can't we cover the TE? That guy meowmeowyaki, (or whatever his name is) is an all Big Ten guy. On his first TD he made an awesome fake block and held it for a long time before leaking out. He gave a great false key to our D guy who was in man coverage. It was a brilliantly designed play. Almost like a screen. And he's been out of the lineup for a few games, so the team didn't get to study much recent film on him. He also catches like 10 balls a game or something ridiculous like that. On his second TD, he was the TE on the other side of the formation where they had been running for like 15 straight plays. we had to sell out on the run just to stop the bleeding. He came all the way across on the bootleg and just got lost. It happens. If we could run to one side for 15 straight plays and then do playaction off of that, it would be deadly too. In fact it was back in the days of Griese to Tuman.
- Zoltan is still awesome. I'd say he won his matchup of All-American punters tonight. He was booming 60 yarders all night. I was afraid he was going to out kick the coverage, but we managed to get the tackles.
- Brandom Graham! I think he had 3 sacks and was a beast in most other respects. He had two bad plays (roughing the kicker, and missing stanzi on a rollout) but neither one of them had an impact on the game. (because of mathews fumble, and the D stopped stanzi short of the 1st down anyway)
- Troy! Seemed to be an upgrade at the corner position. (but yeah, mike williams had a couple of breakdowns)
- Brandon Minor. I don't think he's really healthy yet, but he's a workhorse. He basically carried the whole team on his 2nd TD drive.
- Odoms. Had one drop but is turning into an excellent possession receiver.
- O-line. It's coming together. There was a time when we kept running to the right and blowing people off the ball. That was a nice drive. And we scored 3 rushing touchdowns against a team that hadn't given up a single one in 33 FRICKEN quarters.
- GERG! Continues to deliver even though he only has patchwork talent. Let's see what he can do with a couple more recruiting classes.
- Mouton played MUCH better this week.
- Donovan! Yeah, he's awesome.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:11 AM ^
and we must wait it out...
for better days await
October 11th, 2009 at 12:13 AM ^
We're also going to the World Cup!
Be merry for the USA!
October 11th, 2009 at 7:53 PM ^
I'm assuming you were at the live blog Saturday with Wahl chiming in world cup updates much to the dismay of a lot of people. If not, you have no idea how funny that is and how appropriate!
October 11th, 2009 at 12:14 AM ^
Great post. Correct on all bullets. I'll add one - despite the soul-crushing interception, Denard is starting to show some balance to his game. Lost in the gnashing of teeth will be his impressive drive. I love that kid, and I'll always love Odoms. Ah hell - I just love all the Pahokee kids.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:15 AM ^
ty very much.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:15 AM ^
we were in position to win a tough game at the end. Who would have thought? Losing doesn't make me happy, but competitiveness does.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:17 AM ^
we got 3 rushing TD's...Denard's at the end. We are coming together, thanks for the positive diary.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:43 AM ^
Iowa's new meaningless 'no rushing TDs since...' stat starts tonight. YES! WE WIN!
October 11th, 2009 at 12:21 AM ^
I think most folks are disappointed, because in reality, regardless of the situation Tate has lead us to some great come from behind wins, and as much as we all like Denard he is more or less an "Athlete". Again, I wish he would have been put into the game earlier, as a change of pace QB would have brought a different dimention to the game, and also given Tate a chance to view from the "sideline" which always seems beneficial to young QB's. It was great game, and it is just frustrating watching a "winnable" game go down the toilet, but again, this is a very young team which is going to continue to grow and keep improving. My personal opinion is that we throw a few wrinkles into the game plan, as I feel our offense has become a bit predictable, I'm hoping the game plan is just scaled down due to youth, but I'm happy this year just getting to a bowl game, obviously seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and some National Championship chances in the near future with Tate at the helm....Go BLue..
October 11th, 2009 at 12:26 AM ^
good "post".
October 11th, 2009 at 2:27 PM ^
Minor in the I formation, the D knows he's getting the ball and he still gets 5 yards a pop. Predictable, but it didnt matter. Are unpredictable/improvisational plays are what I thought stalled us. The reason I would have only put Tate back in is b/c of clock management. Denard needs the ability to run and in that last drive the run wasnt really an option b/c of the clock, so Iowa could just play the pass. This doesnt play to the strength of Denard. I love seeing Denard actually looking downfield and then tucking the ball and running. When he does this it spreads the D, and gives him lanes more than just taking it up the middle. He's coming along, and next week hopefully we sharpen things up for Penn State who is very beatable. Go Blue!
October 11th, 2009 at 12:26 AM ^
Someone is making a post to keep people off the ledge. This is a young team that made too many mistakes to win. They almost overcame all those mistakes. It's not fun to lose games like this, but give these kids time to grow up.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:38 AM ^
I'm not about to jump off a ledge and knew we'd get beat 4 or 5 times this year, but yes, RR made an extremely bad decision letting Denard stay in. I think when trying to discipline one kid effects the whole team, then a bad decision was made. Denard had no business being on the field. Tate was the guy. He's done it twice already and throws a much better ball. You have to give it to him. Way to go RR. Hated u from the start. The trend continues...
October 11th, 2009 at 12:44 AM ^
I just hate the way RR forces the ball out of qb's hands, muffs punts, and throws picks. I think he knows his team a bit better than us on this board.
October 11th, 2009 at 9:26 AM ^
Didn't like him as the pick. I don't like the offense and never will. And yes, I find ways to reinforce my beliefs like Denard and Zoltan decisions. That being said, he is getting his players going in the right direction. Being competitive. I admit that fully.
But I do think he needs to be a better coach during practice. Pass blocking and wr's flowing with the qb when he's scrambling (which is almost every play) needs to vastly improve. And practice punt catches more. My god, how many fumbles is that in 2 years?
October 11th, 2009 at 1:02 AM ^
Really? Really? DRob just led an unbelievable drive to pull this team within 2. Tate had done nothing to deserve to be there at the end. I don't fault RR at all.
Of course it's easy to second guess RR now, but if Tate had come in and thrown a pick, we'd have a whole other host of people asking why RR took out the hot hand.
If anything, I think we should applaud RichRod for having the guts to make what he thought was the correct decision, even if it was one that would be easily second guessed.
October 11th, 2009 at 3:03 AM ^
Denard has never demonstrated the ability to run a 2 minute offense. He can run the hurry up, but that is very different. So would I put Tate in ... hell yes (unless he really was very injured)! Putting Denard in and hoping he can become a decent passer that makes good reads and throw good out balls is no different than hoping Mesko can go in and make a field goal. Denard deserved to be in the game and if we had 3 minutes I would concede your point. But it took a very slow (albeit successful) previous drive that gave us so little time. In the end you need to use the right tool for the job...and that is Forcier.
There is no hindsight here. When Denard came on the first thing I said was 'he can't run a 2 minute offense' -- well unless he breaks a 60 yard run.
October 11th, 2009 at 9:21 AM ^
Why? Did he do anything on the field. Part of the reason Tate was having a tough go is out o-line can't pass block very well and the wr's weren't flowing with the wr's to get open. Herbie even said that during a game. That's coaching.
Denard throws ok in those 5-10 yard pass range. Has never led the team when it counts. RR keeps saying his team is young and learning. Well, Tate has led the team back 2x already. That's what we call experience. And yes, even though Denard scored the td, I say you have to go with what you know works.
It's a huge blunder IMO. Just like giving Zoltan the go ahead to to fake punt it last game. In that situation, if you put Zoltan in, you go up to him and say, kick the damn ball.
Again, that's on the coach. The very bad and arrogant coach we have.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:06 AM ^
Way to back your team "Junior". Thanks for the insight. Beat it troll!
October 11th, 2009 at 9:13 AM ^
But I don't back my coach. Period. And that's my prerogative. Idiot.
October 11th, 2009 at 9:42 AM ^
perrogative either, but I wouldn't use it in a sentence and then call someone an idiot afterwards. Moron.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:40 AM ^
Thank you for the post! Indeed better days ahead!
October 11th, 2009 at 12:40 AM ^
doesn't it piss you guys off that we had a chance to win a game we were in a game we were supposedly suppose to lose? we played like shit in the state game... i'm not pissed about that...but i am about this one. you can't play a guy that has failed to throw a pass more than 15 yards with any accuracy... its not acceptable. i don't care how bad tate played.... he's your man...ride him where he has thrived.... it doesn' make sense, but this is where he has proved he can do it...he's a cocky ass freshmen..we know.. but let him be in the position where he has thrived... i just hate this decision.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:04 AM ^
Yeah, he is the man but he was not getting it done tonight in the time he was in and if you let him stay in and make mistakes and not be held accountable for them he will not grow as a player. If you are pinning this loss on D Rob for the last pick then obviously you did not watch the whole game. Tate needed to know that he needs to make better decisions and RR let him know. Robinson came in and gave us a chance to win. How do you know that if Tate was left in we would have even been down by 2 on the last possession? I have no doubt in my mind that Tate will be a great QB for this team but also believe Robinson will be a force to reckon with as well and he showed it on that next to last drive. Tough loss but this will only make us stronger!
October 11th, 2009 at 1:10 AM ^
blaming the loss on robinson. i have nothing but love for the kid. He's just not a kid i want in the game in the 4th quarter against the 12th ranked team in the nation with the game on the line. I obviously can't say Tate could have led the drive to get them within 2...I just think to have the best shot at winning, he should have been in there the last drive. Its just my opinion... I believe you have to put your best team out there, I don't think that having D-rob at qb with a time sensitive game on the line is the best option.
October 11th, 2009 at 5:04 AM ^
kid who just marched down the field in the 4th Q at Iowa for that last TD that brought us within 2 with the game on the line? You don't want that kid in? . . . .
October 11th, 2009 at 12:43 AM ^
is our Punter?...duuuude. Seriously. He has 6 or 7 games left...nothing to be excited about
October 11th, 2009 at 12:49 AM ^
that was listed first more for the humor.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:06 AM ^
Ha, i enjoy your humor.. I appreciate your post trying to talk some of us down. I just feel we were out-coached in the msu game..and feel he blew this game as well... i can't imagine anyone would have called for DR is tate would have pissed the game away as some people are saying out there. But good post none the less. Thank Blueseoul
October 11th, 2009 at 1:21 AM ^
I'm as pissed off and frustrated as anyone else. I had to check myself from writing "HOLD ONTO THE GODDAMN BALL" like 10 times in a row. But the team is about a million percent better than what I thought they'd be at the beginning of the year. We can play with anyone in the Bigten. The conference is better than its reputation. And we're only going to get better in the years ahead.
October 11th, 2009 at 4:40 AM ^
We were ABSOLUTELY not out-coached in the MSU game. If anything the MSU game further exposed the fact that Dantonio is an average coach at BEST. Outside of our lack of new packages, MSU looked like they obviously prepared the entire year for us & still barely won at home. They put 20 on us in regulation. If our offense showed up even slightly we win that game. And on a couple occasions his play-calling almost cost them the game he seems to want to win more than anything else in his life. If Dantonio wants to make us his #1 priority then go for it, in the long run that team is still going to be mediocre at best in their most successful season while he is the head coach of MSU. RR did not get out-coached by Mark Dantonio & I guess being a Michigan fan makes it harder to hear that type of stuff when 1. It isn't true & 2. Its regarding that cocksucker from East Landfill.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:56 AM ^
Duuuuude, you are the type of fair weathered fan that moans about everything negative and cant bring out the positives in a loss. Its called field position and believe it or not that wins games. It might not have tonight but sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you! Quit complaining. Everybody is upset about the loss but there is no reason to beat up on your team.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:02 AM ^
oh stop with the fair weather fan...i've watched every game for the last 20 years of my 27 year life.. I know field position is important, but its hardly something to be happy about. The kid is gone soon. Its not like we have 3 more years of this kid...Or, if say we were talking about a fg kicker, that we would have 2 more years of clutch fg kicking. Sure the field position helps, but if you don't take advantage of that, and play your playmakers, there is no point. Don't bring the fair weather card with me because i'm pissed about a game we should have won. The kids deserved this one and bad coaching decisions deprived them. You're not teaching Tate a lesson here. He's your future, you let him ride it out. I'm not beating up on my team. I'm beating up on a bad decision. Name one good reason to back this decision. The kid played bad? So sit him? Let him redeem himself..He did it against Indiana and State... Granted he threw the int in OT...But it doesn't matter...Freshman make mistakes. Denard will never be a starting qb... Teaching tate a lesson isn't worth risking the W.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:21 AM ^
Stop with the fair weather fan talk. Some people react differently than others. It's frustrating to lose by 2 when you should have won the game if you catch a punt and have Minor hold onto the rock. That said of course, we can live with this. We are getting there. We should be 5-2 after next week, and that is a long way away from 3-9. That alone is great, but it doesn't take away from the fact we could have won that game if we didn't turn the ball over in two of the 5 situations. Let's drop the fair weather BS. We are all fans, and we are all pissed about what happened, and excited about what could happen. Go blue.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:45 AM ^
Speak for yourself, I'm not pissed at all. There is absolutely no reason to be pissed. We were 3-9 last year. We are performing above expectations. Everyone should be extremely satisfied with what they see and be excited for the future. Perspective people.
October 11th, 2009 at 7:23 AM ^
don't read mgoblog.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:03 AM ^
Remember the Illinois, Penn State, and Purdue debacles? We played poorly tonight and last week, and lost both games by a combined total of 8 points.
We are improving. Be patient. Kudos to CoachRod.
BTW, whoever had the scoop on Cissoko was spot on.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:05 AM ^
Ezeh out ran the Wegher kid and dumped him short of the goal line which the D then made into a complete stop. That was a huge play for a LB who has taken his lumps this year. Mouton made the critical stop on 3rd down (by sticking his body in a gap) that setup the final chance to win the game.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:09 AM ^
Mouton made a bunch of great plays tonight. That shouldn't be forgotten.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:12 AM ^
I dunno whether it was primarily a function of lacking confidence in players to execute but regardless RR's play calling for most of this game appeared atrocious. I realize the line opened some holes for Minor at times and Minor himself deserves accolades, however, you can't simply continue to run your backfield into a granite wall hopening to wear it down. It won't budge after the first few scabs get knocked away. Like I said in a related thread, Ferentz knew how to attack our personnel weaknesses on both sides of the ball, especially our D when Iowa needed it. 7-5 or optimistically 8-4, which is what many said at the beginning of this season.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:51 AM ^
Tough to listen to you about bad play calling when you can't spell hoping correctly.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:16 AM ^
Usually I would be all bent out of shape over a loss like this but not tonight. I saw a lot to be hopeful about. Michigan may only lose one more game all year if they keep playing like they did tonight minus the turnovers. That game would be O$u if they bring the same game to Michigan Stadium that they showed Wisconsin in the Second Half today. I am going to go out on a limb and predict that "M" will beat both Delaware State AND Penn State in the next two weeks.
BTW, what is Delaware State's mascot? I know that the University of Delaware's mascot is the "Blue Hen" and they wear these cool-ass blue Uniforms with winged helmets. With any luck Delaware State will be green and white with a big "S" on one side of the helmet and some ancient warrior race as a mascot with some guy dressed up as a muscle-bound mouth-breather!
October 11th, 2009 at 1:36 AM ^
And you are right it is not that bad. With all of our turnovers tonight it could of been a much larger margin in favor of Iowa. Our defense answered the call tonight.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:58 AM ^
OP (first five bullets): Thanks for reminding us all that football is a game of momentum regarding bullet #1. It was clear that Tate was out for a reason. Denard had previously led a drive, and given the circumstances of this game, what's so bad about giving him game experience in that situation?
On #2: THAT is why we lost the game, not the playcalling.
October 11th, 2009 at 7:47 PM ^
There is part of me that wishes Tate was in for the last drive, I mean this is "Tate Time." He has led a 4th Quarter comeback before, and I think would have given Michigan a better chance of winning...but maybe (probably) that is just the Monday Morning QB in me. Tate's pick...I just remember thinking "freshman" afterwards. I don't remember exactly...There was some funny business at the end of Tate's last drive. I can see why he was pulled, but he had made some very good plays in the 1st half. This isn't why they lost though.
Minor's fumble seemed like a lapse (and I saw a few running plays later where he was holding the football a little too loosely--in my mind.) Matthews needs to catch that punt--but he's been doing a good job with the punts this season. I don't remember the 3rd fumble...But HOLD ONTO THE DAMN BALL is why they lost.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:59 AM ^
We lost to a top 15 team on the road and had a -4 turnover margin. Our promising freshman qb made a lot of mistakes and will hopefully learn a lot from this experience tonight. Sure, I wish that they were 6-0 and competing for championship this year but realistically that wasn't going to happen. We played tough and almost came back to beat a good Iowa football team. The program is on its way back up and hopefully all the youngsters can build on their impressive start to this season and learn from the mistakes and grow as football players. Despite the disappointment by losing another close game on the road, I still believe that there were a lot of promising and encouraging things that took place tonight. Go Blue and we now need to take care of business next weekend.
October 11th, 2009 at 2:34 AM ^
I was pissed for about 20 minutes before I remembered that this young team played like shit for most of the last two games (on the road in hostile environments) and almost came up with a win each time. Rich Rod keeps saying that this team isn't good enough to play poorly and win, but boy are they close. I see great things for them in the years to come.
Oh, and the people whining about Rich Rod going with Denard over Tate on our final drive remind me a lot of the charlatans who were complaining about Beilein's decision to bench Manny Harris in OT against (none other than) the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Those people shut the fuck up after Manny Harris and the Wolverines came out and squashed Purdue the following game.
October 11th, 2009 at 7:54 PM ^
Very similar to Harris benching; chances of winning went down in the short term, to improve chances over the long haul. I wouldn't be shocked if Forcier comes out and plays very well going forward
October 11th, 2009 at 2:51 AM ^
We were -4 on TOs and we came within 2 points of the number 12 ranked team in the nation. Thats kinda crazy. I wish we had more posters like you, BlueSeoul.
October 11th, 2009 at 3:09 AM ^
Look, I remember last year very well. I am very happy about the improvements that we have made. That being said, this is a results league. We are Michigan, not Michigan State. Heart breaking losses are still heart breaking losses. When you turn the ball over 5 times and turnovers were one of our major problems last year, I would say we have a major problem.
Young or not, a loss is bad even if losses last year were more lopsided. Do you think Rich Rodriguez looked 'satisfied' even on Denard's loooooooong TD drive (which BTW should have indicated conclusively that he would be unable to orchestrate a 1.5 minute drive). Rich Rod was yelling for Denard to hurry up the whole time. Rich Rod doesn't smile because he knows in sports the margins are small. And sometimes whole seasons can make or break on things like this. So I am not happy about this.
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