Is this team still who we thought they would be?
After the Penn State and Illinois losses that is what I kept hearing from the uber-rational folks here. This team is exactly where we thought they would be prior to the unrealistically raised hopes of 4-0. Get to a bowl game and every thing is hunky-dory.
Well, Michigan has pissed away another game and has now lost five straight conference games (turnover = touchdown; onside kick = touchdown; missed extra point and field goal = loss). The defense gives up big play after big play while the offense can no longer be counted on to make the big play with the game on the line. This team finds a way to lose.
Can anyone really say victories over Wisconsin and Ohio State are possible at this point? Be rational, right?
So what is the Michigan fan supposed to think - in a clam and rational manner - if this team loses seven straight conference games, has a losing season, and misses out on a bowl game?
I am not advocating firing the coach and starting over. I do not think that is the answer. But what I would like to know is what all of these "calm down this is what we expected" folks think at this point.
Because I did not expect this team to compete for a Big Ten title or beat high caliber teams. But I sure as heck expected this team to not get crushed by Illinois and choke a game away against Purdue when they had a two touchdown lead at the half.
It seems likely to me that this team is going to have to improve just to be mediocre next year given the defense. And if the offensive line doesn't get substantially better how are we going to outscore everyone?
Maybe it is my fault for not realizing that Michigan would need three years to be competitive - not national but in the conference - again. Feels like this program is a lot farther behind than I thought.
Well, Michigan has pissed away another game and has now lost five straight conference games (turnover = touchdown; onside kick = touchdown; missed extra point and field goal = loss). The defense gives up big play after big play while the offense can no longer be counted on to make the big play with the game on the line. This team finds a way to lose.
Can anyone really say victories over Wisconsin and Ohio State are possible at this point? Be rational, right?
So what is the Michigan fan supposed to think - in a clam and rational manner - if this team loses seven straight conference games, has a losing season, and misses out on a bowl game?
I am not advocating firing the coach and starting over. I do not think that is the answer. But what I would like to know is what all of these "calm down this is what we expected" folks think at this point.
Because I did not expect this team to compete for a Big Ten title or beat high caliber teams. But I sure as heck expected this team to not get crushed by Illinois and choke a game away against Purdue when they had a two touchdown lead at the half.
It seems likely to me that this team is going to have to improve just to be mediocre next year given the defense. And if the offensive line doesn't get substantially better how are we going to outscore everyone?
Maybe it is my fault for not realizing that Michigan would need three years to be competitive - not national but in the conference - again. Feels like this program is a lot farther behind than I thought.
November 7th, 2009 at 6:41 PM ^
Our cake is baked this season. Negativity won't assist player mindset. The team can still rise to knock off its two remaining opponents. IF it can play UP. We need to focus on PMA - that's precisely what the Purdue coach attributed his team's victory to and I saw Purdue exhibit it on the field today. Look to the positive - for example, with no bowl appearance our guys should have more time to study and ought to post the highest team GPA ever. That's the clam philosophy. -Blueto
November 7th, 2009 at 9:44 PM ^
how did Belch did back up to 877 positive? unless this is Brian's emotion station
November 7th, 2009 at 6:28 PM ^
"There's no question you're going to sit there and say if I had 12 or 13 or 14 fifth-year seniors playing, you're playing with 22-year-old men, not 18- and 19-year-old kids. If you don't think there's a difference between the two ... there is. There's a huge difference between them..." Rich Rodriguez, in Saturday morning's Freep.
Can we hope soon for Barwis to have some sort of positive effect? No matter how clever the schemes, it is hard to win when you are four yards in the wrong direction from the line of scrimmage.
November 7th, 2009 at 7:12 PM ^
I was thinking 6-6 or maybe 7-5 at the start of the season. After the quick start I was hoping for 8-4. (Key word there being "hoping").
But we see now that the 6-6 team many were expecting at the start is the team we have. Freshman QB, awful defense. This team is better than the horribleness of last season, but only on offense. The defense is much worse than last year's.
So where to get that 6th win? Sorry but it's not going to be against OSU.
So that leaves Wiscy. Wiscy had a bit of trouble with Indiana today, which leaves a bit of hope for UM to pull an upset. If we don't beat Wisconsin, hello 5 and 7.
November 7th, 2009 at 7:22 PM ^
I expected this team to be significantly better than last year's team and, abandoning "significantly," it's debatable whether this team is better at all. In September it clearly was, but this year's team will finish with a worse record in the Big 10 and the on-field product has looked pretty much like 2008 since the Indiana game.
I expected seven wins minimum and considered eight or nine to be decent possibilities. The Utah/DSU swap and the retrospectively incomprehensible Notre Dame win are the only reasons this year is even a superficial improvement over last year.
He gets four or five years blah blah blah but Rodriguez has been a comprehensive failure thus far. Interviewees for the Athletics Director position should be tactfully asked what their plan would be for conducting a coaching search in the next couple of years because any rational observer would consider it at least a 50/50 shot at this point. I think it's much likelier.
November 7th, 2009 at 8:24 PM ^
No this team is not who we thought it would be.
...but make 3 or 4 plays and it would be 8-2 and everything and more than we thought it would be.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:38 PM ^
you've lived in Lansing too long
are we "learning"
is this our "resurgence"
are we "paying our dues" to "overcome"?
just as we could have made tackles to end games, so too could a ND player strafe right, hit the X button 900 times and block our catch to win the game in week 2. debating how many plays away from X-X is moot. and beneath the IQ of football fandom we should be at.
we're 5-5. that's it. no plays, no extra 30 seconds, no anything
WE'RE 5-5.
November 7th, 2009 at 8:44 PM ^
All of those preseason expectations from rational fans also conceded that any loss in the ultra-thin back seven (especially in the secondary) meant certain death. Well a secondary starter got booted off the team and he's been replaced in the line-up with a freshman walk-on. This corresponds directly with the current bout of losing. Coincidence? Not unless you have your head lodged up your ass.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:16 PM ^
Only difference is that the D is worse than I thought. And it's not the scheme, it's the players. Take your choice: they are either lacking in talent or discipline. I see players put in the right spot miss tackles and overrun plays.
That being siad, I'm afraid there's a good chance Michigan starts a true freshman at QB at some point next year. That learning curve is pretty brutal.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:36 PM ^
ugh
log off aol
don't breathe until you hear AOL say goodbye
yes, because you apparently still on dial-up
thanks for being that guy
November 7th, 2009 at 10:34 PM ^
In terms of overall record, yes. Before the season started, I thought M would have either 5 or 6 wins after Purdue.
In terms of execution, no. I understand and accept that young players will make mistakes related to scheme (i.e. wrong read, throw in the coverage). However, the fumbles, poor tackling, and inability to field punts has been largely disappointing and surprising.
I don't think RR should be fired until he's had at least 4 years as Head Coach. Still, I hopes he sits down after the season and fairly evaluates his position coaches. I think many of us can agree that toward the end of Lloyd's tenure his loyalty hurt the team. I don't want to see that happen again.
I really don't understand why the fundamentals haven't improved from week to week. I never played organized football, so I don't know what happens during in-season practices. Are fundamentals practiced at all or is practice dedicated to installing new plays for that week's opponent? If its the latter, shouldn't the fundamentals been solid going into the season (is this too much to ask for - no sarcasm)?
November 8th, 2009 at 8:27 AM ^
Lets say we steal on from OSU or Wisco.
2008-2009: 3 wins
2009-2010: 6 wins
*2010-2011: 9 wins
*2011-2012: 12 wins
*2012-2013: 15 wins
So as you can see using sound scientific logic, we should be at 15 wins in 2012. This is actually a bi-product of what the Mayan calendar predicts. It wasn't the end of the world in December 2012, just a restructuring of the BCS into playoff system in which the BCS champion has to play 15 games.
So yes, this is exactly where I thought this team would be.
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