Ohio game wrap (with pics!)
Finally! No,... FINALLY!!!!!
So that game was closer than it should have been. Raise your hand if you think the replay official had taken Ohio against the spread. A touchdown would have made it a 10 point game with Michigan covering the 9 point spread. But let's bitch about that later.
WOOOOOO!!!!!!
10-2 with wins against ND and OSU! It's beyond all expectations. If we hadn't laid an egg at Iowa and gotten screwed by the refs that game, we'd be sitting with just one loss, 3 close wins, and 8 curb stompings. You could say that I'm sold on this coaching staff. I had no idea the coordinators and position coaches would be this good. We still have a lot of issues with our WLB and our secondary, but we're light years ahead of where we were last season.
On to the pics!
Fickell
I have to give him credit for coming out with an aggressive gameplan that put a lot of pressure on Braxton Miller's arm and Posey's ability to get separation. It almost worked. But the punt from the 36 yard line was a pure Zookian moment.
It's 4th and 4, the game is a high scoring affair, you've been moving the ball pretty well with your mobile QB and there's a strong possibility that you'd only be gaining 16 yards with a punt anyway. There's no debate. This was a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE decision. Their punter did a good job executing the coffin corner kick, but that still doesn't justify the thought process.
Add that to Fickell's continued clock mismanagement, and I doubt you'll find a single bucknut fan who is sad to see him go (or demoted, or whatever). Not forcing a punt at the end of the first half was not that bad with a one point lead, but wasting 16 seconds for a 3rd down spike on the last drive was just awful. You could even hear Spielman rolling his eyes at that.
F* That guy
Miller is going to be a problem going forward. He fits "Urban Meyer's offense" as Spielman called it during the game (so much for the two weeks of pretense) almost perfectly. He doesn't throw a very accurate ball but *cough*tebow*cough* that doesn't mean he can't be successful in that offense.
It is interesting to note that Miller had 9 TD's and only 3 picks. Yeah, he didn't have many yards or attempts and was under 50% passing, but that's still pretty remarkable for a true freshman. He's been missing his receivers in safe ways and pulling it to run if the coverage doesn't look right. That's pretty good ball security for someone you'd expect to misread coverages due to inexperience.
He started out the game doing what we expected, we just weren't ready for his speed on the first couple of plays. On this 2nd and long, Ryan is blitzing from a walked off OLB spot.
But his path is a little too much to the outside. I know he's thinking about contain, but he's got to aim more directly at Boren and then use his arms to stay off the block.
Instead, he gets pushed outside and the tackle is free to release onto Demens.
Morgan has to do a better job of reading that lineman crossing the LOS and react quicker to Miller. Ryan would adjust later, but this gave them an important early 1st down.
Mattison really sold out on stopping the run and stopping Miller's scrambling. On Kovacs' delayed blitz, you can see we did a much better job of filling the running lanes on the rush. Morgan is playing spy (which was kind of useless...) and the D-line is free to shoot the gaps away from the blitzer.
But Miller is very elusive and showed great leg strength in getting away not only from Kovacs, but also RVB. Fortunately Demens and Martin have followed the play allowing Kovacs a second shot at the sack. Meanwhile, Morgan is .... well I think Ohio watched a lot of film on Morgan and decided to go after him all game.
Martin and RVB were great all day (of course), and they were twisting on most passing downs. This is a pretty good idea when the O-line you're facing is known to have communication problems. On this play RVB is supposed to go around Martin, but Brewster gives Martin a pretty good pop.
That's no problem for the two seniors, RVB just decides to go first and Martin swings around.
The center and guard are so concerned with Mike, they let VanBergen go free for the easy TFL.
Miller picked up 1st downs with his legs all day. The early bombs really messed with our gameplan and gave him more room to run. On this 3rd and long, we've got Kovacs in the box in our crazy lineup with all the guys on the line and different people dropping out. Because of the earlier passing success, three people are dropping into coverage, even though Ohio LOVES to call the QB draw in this situation.
The result is that Morgan got caught with his weight going the wrong direction and Miller galloped over Kovacs for a big gainer.
But I think Mattison just decided he wasn't going to let Boom Herron beat us. I think Herron ended up with less than 40 yards because of plays like this. Here we've got Kovacs coming off the receiver to run blitz.
And again you can see the linemen shooting gaps away from him.
Kovacs gets in there so fast that both Boren and Posey are blocking air. Jordan gets the TFL and the Ohio is stuck in another 3rd and long.
Miller ran the speed option a lot the last few games and that continued against us. On this touchdown, he cuts against the grain and makes Roh miss in space. Spielman was babbling about how great a play call this was and how it was a counter speed option.
I call bullshit. They definitely do have a counter speed option, but this play wasn't it. You can tell because Roh is unblocked. On the designed counter, the tackle engages the end and tries to seal him inside or kick him outside.
This looks more like improvisation by Miller. I think they just tell Posey to block on the backside like he means it on every play. They got a TD here simply on Miller's talent, not on any blocking scheme. You can see he takes a hard jabstep upfield that fools Roh just enough so that he can get outside.
After that he makes an amazing jumpcut and his momentum carries him into the endzone.
THIS is the counter speed option, except it's a playaction pass. The tip off that it's a pass is that Miller turns away from the LOS instead of going nose towards it.
It's a well designed play that turns into a rollout to the right. They've got three layers with a deep corner, the intermediate cross, and Stonebrunner is going to release into the flat. If the Defense over pursues the rollout, there's even a throwback available to Herron.
But Stonebrunner doesn't hold his block long enough or Miller doesn't get enough depth and Roh is right up in his face.
A more experienced QB might have tried to hit #11 who is open, but like I said before, Miller has been very safe with the ball. Morgan does a good job of knowing who he's playing against and comes up expecting the run instead of uselessly trailing the TE.
He was wide open though. And Denard made a similar play that turned a sack into a short gain. Maybe Miller will be making those plays in the years ahead. Guh.
I'm just glad we'll have Mattison. Because when push came to shove and we needed a stop on the goal-line in the 4th quarter, Mattison basically declared that Miller wasn't going to run the ball in. And credit Kovacs for picking up the TE on playaction so that Miller didn't have an easy throw.
F* this guy too
With only one game of film to watch, our DB's were not prepared for Posey's talent.
But after a couple of short passes to him, they were very concerned about his presence. A little too concerned.
If Gordon hadn't screwed the pooch on this, the ball was not well thrown and he could have given Brown a harder time catching it since Miller threw it to the wrong shoulder and brown had to turn around to find it.
I'm going to give our DB's a tiny little bit of slack in saying they haven't faced anyone with Posey's skill except for Michael Floyd. And they had a lot of safety help against Floyd that they didnt' get for this game. Posey is as close to Mario Mannigham that I've seen on an oposing team. He does a great job of getting on the DB's toes and making them turn their hips. But still...
Even though this is a triple move, (headfake outside, cut inside, cut outside)...
You can't let a guy get that wide open. Lucky for us this duck was overthrown.
If you're going to put 8 men in the box and play man up against the WR, then freaking play man up. Troy has Posey one on one, but because he's lined up so far back, there's no chance for him to make a play on anything but a fly.
This deep cross was not a fly.
And it didn't help that Posey turned Troy around with an outside fake. Amazingly, Miller hit him in stride (no it wasn't a tight spiral).
Posey did it to all three of our DB's (Kovacs was essentially a LB this game). On the last drive he turns around Floyd. J.T. was thinking about getting an interception, and we almost paid dearly for it.
We were about a yard and a half from being down by a point. There would have still been 1:30+ left on the clock, but I was pretty happy to see this ball hit the ground. Our offense was pretty good, and Denard was pretty accurate, but no offense to Gibbons, I'm glad we didn't have to drive for a winning field goal.
[hit the jump for the remainder]
F* the refs!
It does seem a little strange to be so upset with the refs after a game we won and didn't have an accepted penalty against us until the 4th quarter.
But the Sin of Omission is still a sin. That's pass interference in the 1st quarter. And by now, why should I expect us to get that called, EVER again.
And I don't know how you don't at least handout offsetting personal fouls after this scrum.
Or miss this holding...
Or miss this holding. . .
Or not understand the definition of the word 'INDISPUTABLE'.
That might be short at the 1 INCH line.
Or it might be over by 3 inches. Either way, there's a dispute.
And in no world should the ball be spotted at the one FOOT line.
And this is offsides, assholes. I'll grant Watson's late hit was a legit call. But the holding should have been negated by this guy lining up in the neutral zone. The difference between 2nd and goal from the 15 and 3rd and goal from the 25 is pretty big.
Forgiving Borges
Looking back on the whole season, Borges has done a wonderful job. The thing I'm most happy with is that he said he'd keep Denard healthy and unleash him for the big games, And that's exactly what he did.
And the guy has a playbook that's bigger than many libraries.
This is a look we hadn't seen all year. Jr. comes out of the backfield giving us a man/zone indicator.
Denard does a great job of selling the playside pass by staring at Hemingway,
Which opens up the backside flare screen. I know some people (ok, ME) have been pining for the bubble screen, but if you have other plays that can make #52 and #10 look stupid, then it's all good. If the goal was to keep those backside defenders honest and take advantage of them when they're not, then 'mission accomplished'.
And kudos for going after the guy I hoped you'd go after.
Although, I still don't know why you're in love with the Denard Jet formation, as it hasn't really produced much.
Which, every now and then, results in crap like this.
But if these kinds of 'go nowhere' (3 yards on first down, but only because Vince is a tough S.O.B.) plays are part of the tapestry that puts up 40 points per game, you get on with your bad self. But if we can't crack 20 against MSU at home next year, people (ok, ME) are going to get cranky again.
Full Throttle Denard
The 40 yard TD was all Denard. It starts out with nice blocking to seal the backside.
But the pulling guard has two unblocked LB's to pick from.
He picks the faster guy and leaves Sabino in the hole for Denard.
Denard leaves him in his dust and Fitz does a great job of realizing the play is still going.
So he helps out Omameh and they pick off one of the safeties in the process. But what do I keep saying is the difference between just a long run and a homerun. That's right, downfield blocking.
Gallon does an excellent job sustaining his block on #4 and they manage to trip up #19, and that's what really sent Denard on his way. So Gallon gets a twofer on that TD.
("No passion" may ass.)
But it wasn't a perfect game. One of Denard's two fumbles was caused by him carrying the ball in the wrong hand. (Running to the right, ball in the right, running to the left, ball in the left).
Fitz yeah!
Talk about turning it on at the end of the season. Fitz ended the regular season with another 100+ yard effort and topped 1000 for the year. A great game for the O-line, but Fitz really is starting to live up to the "Mike Hart but with Speed" hyperbole. Let's pray he continues his newfound healthy ways (and that we get a certain 5* early enrollee to follow in his footsteps)
This is the play that had Brian smiling. It's the sprint draw counter, although we hit it a little quicker than some teams, so it's more of just a draw counter. At this point in the game Shazier was already down to one leg, so it didn't really matter if our timing was too quick.
#93 actually did a good job of beating Huyge, but Taylor was there to pick him up and Shazier fell down on his own.
And you've got to love that instead of going out of bounds, Fitz cut back inside to get a few extra yards. (But Denard, YOU go out of bounds and stay healthy!!)
Here's a nice jumpcut from Fitz on #4, who isn't the best tackler, but it's still a nice move.
And Hemingway. gets a nice block to give us about a 10 yard gain on 1st down.
Shazier had to resort to Gholston tactics to slow him down.
Freshman Morgan
I try not get on any individual kid's case too hard unless he deserves it. Desmond Morgan has played great at times. But he's fighting against some limitations. Granted he's only a true freshman, but he lacks the strength, size, speed, and technique needed to be an All B1G linebacker. Maybe that can change, because he's playing with all his heart and I don't wince every time I see him on the field as I have with certain defenders in the past few years. But I do wince when I see him sprawled on the ground as a ball carrier runs past.
There's got to be a reason why he's playing when the guys behind him on the depth chart are more athletic, and I'm betting it has a lot to do with coachibility. So I'm hoping one of two things happens in this offseason. I hope either Morgan hits the weight room like a beast and puts on a few pounds, or one of his backups gets their head screwed on to compete for playing time.
His biggest problem right now is that he's just not shedding blockers the way a stud LB would.
Roh gets kicked out and there's a hole for Miller, but at least Roh can shed his blocker and dive at the play.
Morgan more or less got pancaked.
And here he is getting blocked by Adams, who is a very big man, but that looks like David and Goliath, and David's pad level is too high.
It's one thing to completely whiff on Braxton Miller in open space, he'll do that to a lot of people. But a starting LB at Michigan should be able to get off of blockers.
Watch how Mike Martin and Craig Roh do it. It looks like there's a lane on this QB draw.
Roh has gone a little bit too far upfield, but look at the way Martin uses his hands to stay off the blocker. He can see which way Miller is going to cut.
So he comes underneath to fill the lane. Roh comes back down too. And Demens is in space and reads the draw play. Meanwhile Ohio has decided to doubleteam Morgan because they figure that's where the soft spot of the defense is.
Speaking of Roh and Martin.
ETC:
This forced fumble on the kickoff (3rd in two games!) coulda been a gamechanger. If we had gotten it and gone up 23-7 early, Ohio might have become one dimensional, we could have dropped more people into coverage, and won the game by a comfortable margin.
Nice hit by Avery who also had the game ending PBU and INT.
The dance squad was looking about as good as I can ever remember them looking. But who let the 5th grader on the squad?
This girl knows how to get about 5000 blogstalkers. It'd be nice if we could get her to hook up with Lloyd Brady.
Speaking of, what a diverse fanbase (student section) we have! It's not easy make Lloyd Brady unremarkable, but check out this lineup. You got Mideastern, Caucasian, Indian, Special Needs, Asian, and Nick Frost! And isn't it ironic that a ghillie suit actually makes you stand out more.
Obligatory Derp Moment:
December 1st, 2011 at 2:14 PM ^
I've loved these recaps all year, and this one is by far the best
December 1st, 2011 at 2:21 PM ^
Great work as always.
I couldn't agree more - Re: Miller. He seemingly has only one glaring weakness: passing accuracy. I'd have to think that his interception total is so low because his issue isn't making bad reads. He makes great reads. If he had any sort of accuracy he'd have had a banner day. That being said...
Two questions for you:
1. How much do you think the defensive gameplan was based upon giving Miller some wide open downfield looks (and willing to take a lump or two with it) versus just failed execution?
2. Do you think Miller's lack of interceptions is maybe also due to teams giving him passing lanes knowing he's not going to kill them with the throw?
December 1st, 2011 at 2:24 PM ^
can't say much about number 2, but number 1 I'd peg at about 30/70 gameplan versus failed execution. We had guys in man coverage who just got beat.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:02 PM ^
I don't think any sane DC in the country is willing to give away the deep pass. That was not part of the game plan.
Like what MSU did against us, they settled for an obvious mismatch in the hopes that other factors (QB accuracy or trash tornado) would help contain the deep threat. Basically, in Michigan vs. MSU the wind was the second safety* against Michigan's receivers; in Michigan vs. OSU Miller's inaccuracy was the second safety* against OSU's receivers. That allows them to "cheat" on the pass, bringing up the SS as a de facto fourth linebacker to help out against the run. The risk of getting beat was just part of the equation; a calculated risk. In both cases it worked, albiet barely against OSU. What scares me about Miller is that tactic might not work next year.
*Tacopants' cousin Burritoshirt, who plays defense against the deep threat in what looks like a Cover 1 because he's invisible. Wideouts who look like they've beaten the last man are really bracketed. Gets a lot of PBUs but no interceptions. Also has lots of burrito stains on his shirt from eating so many exploding burritos.
December 1st, 2011 at 4:23 PM ^
I agree that Miller seems to make good reads but another reason why his interception total is probably so low was that until the Michigan game, OSU rarely asked him to pass.
In 11 games he only attempted 134 passes and 25 of those were against UM. For comparison's sake Denard attempted 237 passes in 12 games. Not saying Miller would have had 14 or so INT's like Denard but if he was throwing the ball 20-25 times a game he more than likely would have had a few more INT's.
December 1st, 2011 at 7:49 PM ^
He's a near hilariously bad passer. His picks are low because he rarely has been asked to throw and can barely keep the ball in the same zip code as the receiver, let alone any defensive players. It seemed like some of his better runs were mainly the result of losing contain. Besides, where's the Harvin to complement Tebow? Don't see that kind of player on Ohio.
December 1st, 2011 at 7:56 PM ^
great recap. Just don't buy the conventional wisdom on Miller.
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:48 AM ^
He hit the one dude in stride on that crossing pattern....hopefully that was random luck
December 1st, 2011 at 2:31 PM ^
You got Mideastern, Caucasian, Indian, Special Needs, Asian, and Nick Frost!
Holy shit that was funny. And mean, which makes it funnier.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:42 PM ^
I think I like these better than UFR now, very well done.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:45 PM ^
one little quiblle: on the long Toussaint run, you praise Fitz for staying bounds to get a few extra yards. But the screen cap (6:01 of the 2nd) makes it look like what I thought might be the case the first time around is really true: if Fitz has sprinting room to beat the safety, who doesn't exactly have the sideline sealed. Denard doesn't go out of bounds there, he blows by the dude and scores.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:48 PM ^
What great analysis.
The photos were other worldly and bring back memories of the incredible energy that existed in the Big House on Saturday.
Keep it coming. Oh shit, there's only one more game.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:00 PM ^
After Denard's screen pass in the Nebraska game that was tipped and intercepted by a D-Lineman, it's clear that the Michigan O-Line has been coached up to cut down the Ohio defenders to make for an easier throw. Your pics show Taylor Lewan cutting #52 beautifully on the screen to Fitz.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:10 PM ^
that's a really good block for a tall man
December 1st, 2011 at 3:13 PM ^
RPS'd indeed
December 1st, 2011 at 3:15 PM ^
But this:
10-2 with wins against ND and OSU! It's beyond all expectations.
Well, no. Not much, at all. Rodriguez predicted "9 or 10 wins." Lots of people predicted 9 wins; I did. 10 wins, sans PSU and Wisconsin, is very good. Absolute congrats to the guys for doing it. But it isn't astonishing.
Beating ND in the last seconds of the game is what we've done the last three years in a row.
Beating OSU, as a touchdown-overdog, is not astonishing. Rosenberg predicted it before the season began, without even knowing what disarray the Buckeyes would be in by year's end.
This team should be proud of how hard they worked and what they accomplished, but they were two throws (Robinson to Roundtree TD vs. ND and Miller to Posey inc. vs. OSU) away from being 8-4 with losses to every one of our key rivals.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:26 PM ^
we're also 2 blown calls (iowa td, 14 point swing from msu's backwards pass) away from being 11-1 or 12-0. see how this is pointless?
December 1st, 2011 at 3:28 PM ^
I agree with the general sentiment that the season was a wild success because I thought it was very reasonable at the beginning of the year to predict a 6-6 finish. Heck, I thought you could make a pretty good case for 5-7. We could have witnessed an offense that tanked while trying to learn a new scheme (we were not yet aware of Borges's flexibility), and it did not seem likely that the defense would improve as much as it did.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:37 PM ^
Rosenberg, therefore your argument is invalid
December 1st, 2011 at 3:49 PM ^
Just wondering.
We creamed 8 teams, one of which was at least an above-average team in nebraska. Did you really, and I mean really, expect that?
And OSU was not a 6-5 team when they saw us. Had they fielded the team Michigan saw all year, they would have easily been at least 7-4 if not 8-3. And then Michigan wouldn't have been such a huge favorite...maybe still the favorite, but let's not act like it was easy. And besides, Michigan scored to go up by 10 (which would have COVERED THE SPREAD) but got it ripped away on an obviously not inconclusive video review.
We beat a ND game in the SECOND GAME EVER under Hoke et al with the new offense and defense, when even I honestly could not have predicted a win there (and I'm a pretty optimistic guy).
Iowa game was a noted hiccup that Michigan should have won. But tell me, how many hiccups did RR have here, and is there any evidence to support that that wouldn't have happened again at some point this year? And despite the hiccup, we still should have at least gotten that game to OT, if not for questionable officiating at the end.
The MSU game was a special case...trash tornado...and it was probably the worst loss of the year. But even that game, with one converted 4th down, could have been headed to a late victory for M.
Michigan did not lose close last year. And despite RR's assertions, until he proved it I don't believe this year would have been the miraculous "A HA!" year that he thought it might, given the major questions on defense that threatened to loom.
I mean seriously, what will make you happy? RR got the short end of the stick, and yes I read 3 & O, but I'm not sure how anyone can look at what happened this year and conclude "eh, it's not that great".
December 1st, 2011 at 4:26 PM ^
Where? It's your quote. You're quoting me?
Here, I'll show you how. I'll quote myself:
10 wins, sans PSU and Wisconsin, is very good. Absolute congrats to the guys for doing it...
...
This team should be proud of how hard they worked and what they accomplished
...
What I contested was exactly what I wrote -- that this season was not "beyond all expectations." This was a season of undeniable achievement. Was it a season of over-achievement? That's a debatable point. You could make that argument, for sure. Coach of the Year is one good argument on that side. But it is a pretty easy thing to say, that this was not a season that was "beyond all expectations" when Rich Rodriguez went on the record before a game was played and said that he expected 9 or 10 wins. This season was pretty much exactly what Rodriguez expected.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:31 PM ^
I cannot plausibly support the notion that we would've gotten to 10 wins had RR stayed for another year. And I'm saying this as a guy who liked RichRod and was deeply disappointed in how our University didn't put him in a position to succeed.
I know that 9-10 wins is what RR *projected* and I can see his reasoning, but I cannot unsee 2010 GERG. There's pretty much no reason to think that our defense is even in the realm of solidly average under RR's stewardship,in the situation we were in. It couldn't possibly have been worse, but we're still playing a 3-3-5 that's on the field for too long. Slightly better depth and more experience doesn't ameliorate GERG. SImilar to how RR was never going to overcome the institutionalized forces unfairly arrayed against him, our defensive players were never going to be put in a position to succeed by our defensive coaching staff had there not been a coaching change.
Moreover, the excellent recruits on defense we have now are probably not all in our fold, even with Tatgate...
December 2nd, 2011 at 10:07 AM ^
they expect to win, they always respond "I never think in terms of how many games we should win" or something to that effect? Unless, that is, they are no longer with the program, in which case they are inclined to throw out a big number.
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:37 AM ^
active coaches have a job to do and that is to inspire the team, not create bulletin board material for other teams, not get their own guys overconfident, not get them deflated or apprehensive, and to focus like a laser beam on performance in the next game. To not, in other words, get ahead of oneself.
Meanwhile, the role of the analyst is to inform, entertain, expose truths and untruths, and generally create content for his employer.
I think that by August of this year, Michigan had waived its right to expect that Rich Rodriguez would be a part of Michigan football press relations.
December 2nd, 2011 at 8:23 PM ^
what would you expect RR to predict our season win total to be? 6?
December 1st, 2011 at 4:02 PM ^
that he left out Nebraska from that short list of notable wins.
Given the state of the defense, particularly what happened against Mississippi State in the bowl last year, I do think double-digit wins was quite remarkable.
Regarding Rodriguez' prediction of 9 or 10 wins, what is he going to say, 7, since I assembled a mediocre team? If he says 9 or 10 and it is not achieved, then its Hokes fault. And given the state of the defense under Rodriguez, and his problems with his coordinators, do you really think that Rodriguez could have gotten 9 or 10 wins sans Mattison? After last years bowl game, I really don't.
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:52 AM ^
Rodriguez predicted "9 or 10 wins."
I like RR but this is actually pretty funny....do we know what he predicted the three years prior?
December 2nd, 2011 at 2:52 AM ^
2008- 3-9
2009- 5-7
2010- 7-6
He is batting 1.000
December 1st, 2011 at 3:33 PM ^
1) Martin's helmet IS badass, but I'm pretty sure they don't get brand new helmets for every game. IIRC, the helmets are touched up with paint between games, and just a bit of "Martin Being Martin" will bring out the old battle scars.
2) I sat in the front row all year, and the dude in the ghillie suit
actually forced Lloyd Brady out of his seat! I'm not sure how much of it was his doing, but an Event Staffer came down and simply told Lloyd Brady to move and immediately placed this kid there, even though he had tickets for and was sitting in row 30. WTF Event Staff?!Great work as always. Best DERP of the year, IMO.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:54 PM ^
And there wasn't a riot?! Does the student section have no honor?
December 1st, 2011 at 4:06 PM ^
but those gashes look pretty fresh to me. (but some of them probably came from pregame judging by their color).
December 1st, 2011 at 3:40 PM ^
I loved the opening video with the Dora song. For those unfamiliar with Dora, there's a fox named Swiper that swipes things. Dora always tells Swiper, "Swiper no swiping." I envision Swiper with buckeye tattoos. Everybody swipes, everybody murders...
Why did you circle the time and quarter on the Mike Martin picture? Was that an error or were you trying to make a point I didn't get? {EDIT: post above mine gives the reason. Thanks.}
These write-ups are quickly becoming one of my favorite things about this blog.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:39 PM ^
Do you think Posey would have won the award for top WR in the B1G over McNutt if he wasn't suspended for 10 games?
December 1st, 2011 at 3:55 PM ^
In the dissipating haze of my memories that were the richrod years, I didn't watch much film on Ohio, because frankly it was depressing. So I've only really watched about 2 and a half games of Posey. Let's not forget we're seeing a game 12 Braxton Miller, I'm sure he's improved a lot over the course of the season.
Now if tattgate had never happened, and both TP and Posey were around for all the games, then yes it wouldn't be hard to imagine him winning lots of awards, maybe not the Biletnikoff because of that kid at the other osu (ok. st.) but best WR in B1G, sure.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:41 PM ^
Well that was worth the price of admission. My heart sank AGAIN just seeing the image of Posey behind Floyd as the ball sails over his head by just a few feet. GULP.
Great job BS.
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:23 AM ^
think of of how much it would have sank if he caught it...be happy
December 1st, 2011 at 3:44 PM ^
December 1st, 2011 at 3:45 PM ^
What I would like to see is a pic wrap of Denard's "WTF!?!? HOW DID HE GET OUT OF THAT FOR POSITIVE YARDS!?!?" play he had, unpassioned running my ass
December 1st, 2011 at 4:01 PM ^
pics don't do that play justice, you've got to watch that one in video to truly appreciate it.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:48 PM ^
You sir are doing God's work.
December 1st, 2011 at 4:43 PM ^
Glad you showed the first quarter PI on Odoms. It was incredibly blatant – you didn't really need slow mo to see the defender hitting him before the ball got there – and yet Spielman et al. didn't pick up on it.
You're right, it's a good thing we won this game despite the refs. There's something about a loss with major bad calls that just won't go away. Think of the Calls of Infamy: Desmond tripped in the end zone, the Extra Second at State… hell, I'm old enough to go back to the Charles White Phantom Touchdown in the 78 (I think it was) Rose Bowl, where Ron Simpkins stripped the ball from White as he was diving for the clinching TD.
Iowa comes close to that level. If this game had gone that way, oh man, I don't even want to think about it. Thank goodness I don't have to!
December 1st, 2011 at 4:50 PM ^
While I see the comedy in the post, I know people who have or need special needs. Calling them "diverse" or part of it is not appropriate. Nor is it appropriate to reference special needs when making any joke publically. Maybe it was not your original intention, but I saw comments that did attach it with being comedic.
Overall great post, but I don't think making fun of people in that context is a great idea.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:06 PM ^
I know lots of asians and indians or people who may be asian or indian and they're cool with the label being used in any context, whether it's a joke or not.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:49 PM ^
Just special needs. Like people with down-syndrome. People with special needs are not a race.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_needs
December 1st, 2011 at 6:46 PM ^
My neighbor has a child with Down syndrome and my dad used to work for the Department of Mental Health, so that's the perspective I bring to the table. A couple things, one, diversity is not limited to race. There is diversity of thought, religion, race, sexual orientation, etc. Two, there is a whole range of abilities within the special needs community. For some, with just a little assistance, they are able to live more or less on their own and can have jobs and responsibilities and contribute in their own way to society. So having a special needs person at a football game watching with the rest of the crowd is great, especially when you consider that a couple generations ago, a special needs person was more likely to be confined to an institution.
Now regarding the photo, I had to look several times before I saw the number four. It's on a guy wearing a pink hat who is not obviously a person with Down syndrome. He may have just been blinking at the time of the photo. Was it an appropriate joke to make? I don't know, but if you are of the opinion that special needs people are part of our community, as opposed to being "other" or "different," than a little tweaking should be harmless. In other words, we should all be able to laugh at ourselves. And if our community does include special needs folks, we are better for it.
/steps off soapbox
December 2nd, 2011 at 3:17 AM ^
I'm not sure if I mind being labeled Nick Frost...
December 1st, 2011 at 4:53 PM ^
I've never seen Denard rush with the ball in his right hand. It's like he's worried about hurting his throwing hand or something, but he only carries it in his left and that has been the primary cause of many of his fumbles.
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:39 PM ^
I wrote about that after Denard's first start, against UConn in 2010...
...and he hasn't changed it since. He lost a fumble against OSU last year because of it, and he lost one this year against OSU because of it. It's somewhat maddening.
December 1st, 2011 at 4:55 PM ^
Tim this has been some great work and never change.
December 1st, 2011 at 4:56 PM ^
I agree with all the stuff about Morgan, but I look to the future with optimism because he's a smart player and has a real nose for the football, although some of his physical tools aren't caught up with his mental tools. But he can lay the hit when he has the space....see de-cleating a few weeks ago. But I think the technique will come from mentoring and I think another off-season of conditioning, now that he knows what it takes to start and STAY a starter, will pay dividends. I think he has a great spring and will add useful weight over the summer.
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