247Sports Article: Jourdan Lewis Talks Season Goals And New Mindset With Harbaugh

so I'll just say, PHUCK YEAH. It does not surprise me a bit that Jim wanted to win from Practice Number One. I bet he had a hell of a time at Stanford, just getting enough decent players to be able to be competitive. Once you're competitive you can do a lot with that. 

The hit Peppers put on IN's big RB, Jourdan Howard, on third down to force IN to pass for it on 4th down would not have been made the year before, even if Jabrill had been healthy. Harbaugh is not going to coach the instinctiveness out of his players, especially when that is one of their greatest assets. Sure they'll phuck up now and then doing this, but not doing it makes for a defense, back on its heels taking all the gut punches instead of delivering them. 

It should just get better and better each year and then, hopefully, routinely great.

And speaking of defense, I am having a difficult time waiting on what we're going to see under Coach Brown. 

i think oline is still the bigger question

We have to also see of the o line will pick up from where it left off in the bowl as well. Losing a center isn't negligible and the rest of the linemen still have holes.

OP should switch links and post the detnews article. 247 link is essentially a thread started by one of their writers to talk about that source article.

Yeah, I caught that, too.  It doesn't get any more bold for being so sly!  Great quote about how things have changed for the better...

But under Harbaugh, they actually show it on the field. With Hoke didn't he not even name captains the final year in an effort to fight the complacency and entitlement that has set in over the previous year's?

I'm not going to argue that what you said is not "normally" true. Harbaugh is not a normal coach, however. You should have picked up on that from Game one. Hell, my son didn't even know who the hell Amar was, and how many people knew we even had a passing attack? Zero would be the correct answer because we didn't. But those three receivers, along with Jake Rudock, showed we had one in the season's premiere, and they kept improving to the point I think we had one of the best passing attacks in the conference by season's end, and it was only getting better each game. Yes, I include the OSU game in that. After all, we were the only team that faced the real OSU, and despite the loss, it clearly showed the players, despite the improvement, how much farther we have to go. They'll keep working to get there. They've proven that.  

It didn't take long after that announcement on December 30 and his first meeting with his players to get things started. This man does not waste time and his immediate goal, as Lewis was stating, was to get it going ASAP. He knew he had the parts to work with and if he can be competitive he also understands he can win. Hell, if you want to lock one thing away in your brain about what makes him different than the majority of the coaches, it would be that alone. Not to suggest that others would have "eased" into the new job, but the majority of coaches would have been fooled into the wrong mindset as to what they had to work with, judging by wins and losses alone. Jim Harbaugh does not know how to approach anything without realizing gains in the quickest manner possible. When your leader is made of stuff like that, your players are going to go one of two ways, the highway or his way. Hell, unlike when Bo came, I don't think he lost any. These kids wanted to win and he was a known quantity. They had no reason to doubt him, so most did the right thing and worked their asses off, knowing when he said meritocracy, he meant it. And that, my friend, is why these quotes are different than the "norm," because if one thing is understood, this coach is not even close to the norm. 

You saw the most talented player on the roster work his ass off and he ended up playing at about 7 different positions. Then you saw some who, although not made of the same stuff as Jabrill - well because no one else is - but, based on their own accomplishments in high school and even more importantly, possessing as much , or more talent than any one else playing the same position, not really believing this "meritocracy" policy. We saw a RB, a transfer from USC, who I believe had the longest run of any back last season give far less than what Harbaugh knew he possessed. Some of these young men were bright enough to know right away. Others took a little time in figuring out that along with knowing whether or not you were giving your best, this coach was a sharp enough evaluator of talent to know just what that best is. If you will recall, almost everyone on the two deep and 4 deep as to RB, got a chance to prove themselves. And what happened to those that were playing but not giving it their all? Well they figured it out and if this sounds a bit like Lewis's quote, there's a reason.

“Whether it's offense versus defense or maize versus blue, we're trying to beat each other in everything we can do,” Isaac said. “If it's a walkthrough, I want to do my walkthrough better than the next guy. Everybody's like that. It can only be a positive. You want a team full of guys who want to compete all the time. That's the only way you can get better.”

That, of course came from Isaac, who lost 14 lbs to not only become just as quick as he could, but also to take care of his body and to prove what he did in the spring game is what you can expect from him going forward. His 30 yard run was more than any other back got the entire day. He added 50 some more to let any doubters know he now understands the meaning of "meritocracy." 

Something tells me even though he knows Smith is still number one, he is going to keep working his ass off to try and take that spot. These young men are all ballers. They all know playing time beats the shit out of putting on a uniform and standing there watching others play. But now any returners know - and I have a feeling word has spread to the newcomers as well - the starting spot is to be had. The only thing you need to do is prove you are going to be the best producer at that position. There were probably 3 or 4 receivers who could have fit into the slot at the Citrus bowl. So it really wasn't a surprise after watching Perry throw nice blocks whenever he was on the field get a laser thrown to him in the 4th quarter that cleared the defenders fingertips by about an inch. It really wasn't much of a surprise, either, to see him catch it for a TD. Yeah, this coach understands meritocracy calls for timely rewards as well. 

You can doubt all you wish. Hell it's nice to have doubters. It let's the players prove them wrong. And speaking of players, I really don't think, and yes, this applies to a young man named Gary as well, there are any doubters as to "best man plays."  After all, it did work out well in both wins and losses in 2015 as well as establishing the culture Michigan football will go forward with. I see no good reason to change it. 

And my friend, gwkrighi, because you're wise enough to be a Michigan fan, you will believe it too by year's end. I really do. 

Ugh. That quote by Funchess is maddening for numerous reasons.

and have agreed with its sentiment for a while now. I just don't see an 8:1 NC team right now. Incredibly overrated OL (with question marks), no proven QB, no explosive HB to alleviate our average OL, nobody proven at LB (even JP is kinda new to his spot but I think he'll be fine), etc. We're not osu or Alabama talented. Not even close. Really good teams will make us one dimensional and then we're screwed. I refuse to believe that a line anchored by Kalis can knock a quality opponent off the ball/los until I see it. Zero evidence to believe it will happen and a ton to the contrary. That's not a team that can beat osu, let alone win a NC. I feel a similar year to last year.