This Month in MGoBlog History - March 2006

Submitted by Maize.Blue Wagner on

Previously:

February 2006

March 1 – Wednesday

Unverified Voracity: Nothing to Hear Here. Sport Illustrated poll says Graham Brown is the dirtiest player in the Big Ten. Paul Davis is the most overrated. I think he still qualifies ten years later.

MI QBs Justin Siller and Steven Threet and California CB Michael Williams added to the Recruiting Board.

March 2 – Thursday

An article about APR numbers and how the NCAA isn’t going after those who fall under 925. This was before the “yikes our APR is in terrible condition” era.

March 3 – Friday

Brian gives an analysis of his football season preview of defense and special teams from the previous August. A few highlights:

Jamison is the official Ron English canary in a coalmine: if he starts over steady, lumbering Biggs and Van Alstyne, the defense is shedding the bellbottoms and buying itself an iPod.

The good bit: David Harris was a revelation at middle linebacker. He was one of the few players to receive less credit than he deserved:

Harris pushing him [McClintock] to the bench means that the coaching staff is willing to give a player who has little experience the nod over a senior who would normally have an unholy death grip on the position, which is not a vote of confidence in McClintock. The fact that neither player has asserted himself has to be a concern, especially since Harris is dinged up again. Average production from this spot would be great.

The instant Harris shook off that minor injury, he stapled McClintock to the bench and started thumping people far and wide. Though he faded somewhat late, Harris was a solid tackler who had surprising range for such a big dude. He was consistent and intelligent. He made plays in zone coverage. He was the best player on the defense not named "Branch" or "Woodley." Not bad for an in-state sleeper recruit.

March 6 – Monday

Unverified Voracity: Mostly APR Bitching is true to its name, following the arguments of a couple more articles about APR numbers and graduation rates.

A post about Reader Interaction Day. I can’t quite figure out what this was, but it mostly centered on the decision to bring DeBord back as OC. It’s interesting to see different perspectives about his first tenure.

In sum: On the surface, DeBord is a ridiculous choice for offensive coordinator. He was unimpressive during his first three years; he failed at CMU; he is not particularly exciting. But there are extenuating circumstances that provide hope that the second time will be better. Loeffler is more heavily involved with the game planning ever year. Lloyd Carr is adapting to college football's offensive renaissance -- with painful slowness at times, granted. The defense is not a rock to fall back upon. DeBord's made some noises in interviews the echo these sentiments, but we won't have a clear idea how meaningful those noises are until the Notre Dame game.

March 7 – Tuesday

Brian considers the recent football staff hires in light of a proposition that when in doubt you hire the fat, bald guy.

The chances of someone who looks like Stripling doing something other than plumbing or lounging around auto factories, destroying the Big Three one three-hour lunchbreak at a time, are astronomical. Bonus points for the Captain Picard-style 'do, which--unlike the shave-everything technique--emphasizes the lack of hair atop Stripling's grizzled pate. The overall impression: this man is probably killing polar bears with his bare hands right now.

Unverified Voracity: Must Play. The basketball team is still being talked about as a tournament team, but at this point that is looking doubtful.

March 8 – Wednesday

PA WR Toney Clemons and MI TE Martell Webb added to the recruiting board. Also, Mike Williams puts ‘M’ in a top two, probably with USC.

March 9 – Thursday

Brian gives a short tutorial on how to use a blog; he also talks about desiring to move to Wordpress.

A liveblog of the Michigan/Minnesota basketball game. A liveblog of the radio feed. Of the Minnesota radio feed? Not sure why this had to happen, but I guess that was life before BTN. Oh, and turnovers doomed this game and effectively move ‘M’ out of the tournament.

3:09 PM:

PBP: A ton of action with little significance.

Color: Sounds like my life.

March 10 – Friday

Are they in or not, no one is sure.

The overall impression is that Michigan is the bubbliest of bubble teams

March 13 – Monday

Posting/vacation update from Brian.

February 14 – Tuesday

Unverified Voracity: John Kerry breaks the news that ‘M’ will not be in the tournament. Also, there’s rumblings that Alex Legion might be transferring to a high school out of state.

Recruiting board update. Ryan Mallet is looking like more of a possibility with Texas picking up a commitment from John Chiles, plus with the situation in Texas…

Mallet would already be trying to unseat a sophomore with a year's worth of starting experience (either Colt McCoy or Jevan Snead); now he (likely) faces another highly regarded quarterback in his class.

March 15 – Wednesday

An obituary for Faz Husain.

Unverified Voracity: Not It shares some NIT coverage from Maize ‘n’ Brew talking about how important signing Patrick Beverly is to Amaker’s future.

March 16 – Thursday

A hockey tournament preview and a look at possible destinations for ‘M’.

March 17 – Friday

Actual football news!  I’m as excited about this happening 10 years ago as I am now. Some highlights:

·         Antonio Bass hurt his knee and is out for the year

·         Mike Hart is healthy

I will sacrifice most of the population of Laos if this remains true for the duration of the season

·         Jake Long is switching to the left side

·         Carlos Brown is working at RB and DB

·         Chris Singletary has been hired as recruiting coordinator

·         Lots of praise for Kevin Grady

·         Antonio Bass was supposed play more QB in the spring, but that’s not happening now

March 19 – Sunday

‘M’ did not get a good hockey tournament bracket.

March 20 – Monday

Unverified Voracity: Worst Blog in Scotland. Neither the Big 10 nor the CCHA are faring well in their respective tournaments. Also, it’s such a bad year for ‘M’ sports that a wrestler was robbed of a national title.

March 21 – Tuesday

The basketball team advances in the NIT in a double OT win.

Unverified Voracity: Yes Yes Oh Yes. NCAA issues seem about the same in 2006 as they do now. This comes from a glowing interview with Myles Brand by Dennis Dodd:

I've advised patience re: APR enforcement before and still think that it is a step in the right direction, but it's hard to not abandon that position in favor of radical fire-breathing when confronted with the torrent of corporate-speak that comes from the NCAA at all hours of the night and day. Such nonstop doublespeak is reminscent (sic) of campus activist groups who were incoherent but very, very angry and very, very noisy. Sensing that any cross-examination of their position would result in the swift and permanent loss of credibility and an awful lot of stammering, the bullhorn types flooded the zone with so much noise that actual thought was impossible. (Yes, sort of like the White House -- now I have bashed both Republicans and campus lefties and may continue unmolested, si?)

March 22 – Wednesday

Video of a Dion Harris buzzer beater from the previous night. I can’t believe there is content that still exists.

Announcement about a memorial service for Faz Husain.

March 23 – Thursday

A hockey bracket preview. Michigan is going into a bracket that included Jonathan Toews and Phil Kessel.

The Prediction

Pain.

Colin Cowherd steals material from The M Zone. Sounds about right.

March 24 – Friday

Recruiting Board Update doesn’t add any familiar names. However, there is a discussion about John Clay making favorable comments, but that might be hampered by a Brandon Saine (a lifelong ‘M’ fan) commitment. Also, it’s not surprising that Chris Forcier won’t be pursued because of Ryan Mallet.

Unverified Voracity: NIT Perspective with football pro day stats. Also, more articles about blogosphere vs. mainstream media, with Bill Simmons saying bloggers just sit back and attack people, but then complaining that he gets in trouble if he tries to attack anyone with ESPN. Ironic.

March 27 – Monday

The hockey team did indeed lose to North Dakota.

Unverified Voracity: Yip Yip Yip. Buena Vista High School basketball star and Notre Dame recruit Tory Jackson is not happy about not being Mr. Basketball (David Kool was the winner that year) and not signing with Michigan. Speculation on Jack Johnson’s future has begun.

March 28 – Tuesday

Things are not looking positive for Johnson returning.

Courtney Viney has been removed from the Recruiting Board. Ironic since he was reportedly just considered for a coaching job 10 years later. Also highlights of an article on Ronald Johnson and discussion on whether Chris Rucker and Ryan Van Bergen would receive offers.

March 29 – Wednesday

Have no fear. Jack Johnson is coming back!

Unverified Voracity: Ministry of Silly Analysis. Patrick Beverly is still looking like a strong possibility. Growing opposition to luxury boxes. And an updated roster!

A favorite pastime of the deranged is to read far too much into listed positions, heights, and weights, as getting information out of Fort Schembechler is harder than a contrived similie that references hilarious pop culture.

(Brian, it’s normal ten years later; read this Jimmystats post.) Highlights:

·         Any worry that Michigan would senselessly put Alan Branch at DE should be put to bed: he's listed at 330 pounds. It should then be awoken: his position is listed as DE/DT.

·         Redshirt freshmen James McKinney (279 lbs.) and Eugene Germany (ditto) are both bulking up to the point where DT may be a possiblity.

·         McKinney, Tim Jamison, and Chris McLaurin are all listed at the anachronistic RLB position... as is Lamarr Woodley. Hopefully that does not imply those three guys get to watch Biggs and Van Alstyne play unsexy librarian at DE. Quiero dual headhunters. Also of note: both Jamison and McLaurin are up to that 240-250 range at which you're leery about every additional pound robbing them of explosiveness.

·         Grady's down to 216. No word on whether he's gotten contacts.

·         Wasn't Brandon Harrison listed at 5'10" last year? I seem to remember many jokes about lifts and such coming from OSU fans. Apparently that fanciful notion has been discarded: he's back down to a Bob Sanders-esque 5'8". Now if he could only play like Sanders.

·         Marques Walton's problem was supposed to be mondo-overweightness, but he's listed at a (relatively) svelte 291.

Finally, Braylon Edwards is endowing a scholarship for the #1 jersey. In case you didn’t know.

‘M’ basketball beats Old Dominion to advance to the NIT final. Brian isn’t sure if this is a good thing or not.

Another Recruiting Board update with discussion on Mallet and John Clay.

March 30 – Thursday

Unverified Voracity: Clash of the Titans readies for the NIT final. Also some things never change:

A note: yes, I saw the Sharp article, and yes, it is beneath comment. If you subscribe to the Free Press, you support this man's salary. You should stop.

CA QB Lee Mondol commits. Likely as a walk on, also class of 2006.

Brian’s portion of a Blogpoll roundtable. I have no idea who else contributed, but only Brian’s answer to the questions are included here anyway, so I guess it doesn’t matter. In response to the question: what things about your team are causing you anxiety during spring practice, Brian gives this response -

2. The offensive line

...was repulsive. Jake Long's moved to left tackle, which makes me nervous about

both tackles spots instead of just one.

A video of Mike Legg’s goal, for no reason particular.

March 31 – Friday

Someone decided to write a book about Bobby Williams.

Where to even begin? This can only be a book that attempts to convince the reader that Bobby Williams' tumultuous career as Michigan State's head coach was ended prematurely by insidious racism instead of

·         losing your starting quarterback to cocaine or alcohol or weed or all of the above, depending on who you talk to,

·         having your captain drag a cop down the street during what was, until then, a routine traffic stop,

·         having two other contributors quit the team,

·         taking a team thought to be a Big Ten contender and turning in a 3-8 record

·         losing to your main rival 49-3,

·         responding to the question "have you lost control of this team?" with a thrilling rhetorical gambit: "I don't know*," aaaaand

·         looking likely to burst into tears at any moment.

Unverified Voracity: Redirect. The hockey team might manage to not lose anyone to the pros this off season; however:

Spath says '07 prospect Pat Kane -- the NTDP U17 team's leading scorer last year -- is leaning towards the OHL over Michigan.

(Also, Brian doesn’t mention it directly, but ‘M’ lost to South Carolina in the NIT the previous night.

 

Comments

PopeLando

March 6th, 2016 at 4:54 AM ^

Antonio Bass' injury was the death knell of real creativity on offense for damn near two years (the Florida game in which Carr pulled out all the stops). RIP Antonio Bass. I still think about what could have been.

When I met Lloyd Carr last year, I talked to him about the 2006 Penn State game. After we were done, I immediately thought, "damn, should have asked him what he would have done with Bass..."

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Lakewood Maize…

March 7th, 2016 at 12:07 PM ^

2006! I feel old now. With 6 kids and traveling for work at that time, it's hard to recall. I do remember working in Alabama when UM and osu were playing, ranked 1 and 2 at the time and only being able to see auburn and bama game! lame. GO BLUE!

bronxblue

March 7th, 2016 at 3:09 PM ^

Man, it's like the ghost of you watching yourself get into the car before the massive accident reading some of this stuff.  Still, fun to see life was a decade ago.

mgofro

March 12th, 2016 at 1:32 PM ^

The infamous 3-3-5 game.

http://mgoblog.com/content/upon-further-review-defense-vs-purdue-0

Are we dealing with morons here?

I don't think so. The defensive staff consists of four guys:

  • Bruce Tall and Tony Gibson are WVU importees.
  • Jay Hopson was a mediocre at best DC for Southern Miss
  • Scott Shafer was DC at NIU, WMU, and Stanford.

Okay, so the main problems this year are the linebackers and the secondary. The sorry state of the linebacking is no surprise given the talent available, and it's not like Carr's staff didn't know about the coming void. See: recruitment of JUCO Austin Panter. I've also heard rumblings that Steve Szabo was very down on the talent level of the guys remaining after Crable's departure. So the jury remains out on Hopson.

The secondary, though, returns approximately three starters, one of them an uber-recruit and the other two seniors with entering their third years of significant playing time. Their implosion seems inexplicable.

Is Gibson completely inept or something? He was one of the two guys who made an appearance with Rodriguez at his first Michigan press conference (Magee was the other) and therefore is subject to accusations of Debordian cronyism from the skeptical; he and Rodriguez have been joined at the hip for a long time. West Virginia fans were mostly glad to be rid of him.

Okay, but:

  • Last year West Virginia was #28 in pass efficiency D and #11 in overall passing D.
  • Transfer Ryan Mundy went from Yards After Mundy machine at Michigan to a very functional safety and NFL draftee at West Virginia.

So, like, WTF? There's at least some evidence that Gibson is pretty decent. And he is working with talent.

You said those guys were coached to do what they were doing.

Yeah, they were. You could see it in the consistency of their actions: line up inside the receiver, face the quarterback, run downfield, give up easy hitch completions. That seems like a tactical decision, which would place it squarely on the shoulders of Shafer.

And, I have to say, that defense made no sense. Throwing wide open ten yard outs is pretty easy and Michigan was set up to offer them wide open ten yard outs.

So…

I think any conclusion that ends with "…because this guy is a moron" is probably wrong, but there's something deeply disturbing about how nonsensical Michigan's defense was. Miscommunication between staff members, fear of the deep ball overriding all things, conflict between guys with different ideas, raw inexperience with the 3-3-5… all these things could have led to a situation where the D is incoherent.

I think there's a pretty good chance things get straightened out with another year to mesh, but the initial foray into working together did not go well.

dieseljr32

March 9th, 2016 at 11:27 AM ^

Heh.  It's funny that people will view a dirty player outside of the program negatively but will be a fan favorite inside the program. 

This brought back so many memories of the Tommy Amaker era.  I will take a John Beilein bubble team over any Amaker team. 

BeatOSU52

March 12th, 2016 at 11:36 PM ^

Amaker's teams always had a winnable game at task to get them to finally punch a ticket to Big Dance and failed time after time.  I was ready for a new direction when they lost that.  Amaker came back the next year and a very similar season, in which they had a chance to beat OSU at home to probably glinch a bid.  They were up late but choked.