Adam Rittenberg Shows RR Some Love
I just read this paragraph on espn and it made me smile. Rittenberg excluded, winning can even make some of the biggest tools show RR alittle love.
Edit: I didn't mean to make him out to be a tool. I was just saying the media in general.
1. Rich Rodriguez's offense might save his job: Rip on Michigan's defense all you want, but the Wolverines' offense deserves a lot of credit this season. Michigan overcame five turnovers to rack up 67 points, 676 offensive yards and 33 first downs against a good Illinois defense that entered Saturday ranked 12th nationally in points allowed (16.8 ppg) and 15th in yards allowed (301.4 ypg). Despite losing starting quarterback Denard Robinson to a head injury, Michigan kept rolling behind backup Tate Forcier. Wideout Roy Roundtree had a historic day with a team-record 246 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The Wolverines needed every bit of offense to beat Illinois in triple overtime, but they're now bowl eligible and can breathe a little easier before a very winnable game at Purdue. Seven wins should ensure Rodriguez is back in 2011.
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/32103/what-we-learned-in-the-big-ten-week-10-3
What are your thoughts?
November 7th, 2010 at 8:00 PM ^
Must concur, Rittenberg is fair, honest and reasonable. He credits blogs frequently when he directly or indirectly uses their material and he seems to have a very solid sense of the pulse of the Big Ten. For a guy who has to cover 11 teams who all kind of dislike each other, he does a very good job of presenting opinions based in fact, and an interesting and thoughtful point of view.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:09 PM ^
I don't know how to say this because I'm not trying to be a jerk in any way, but I don't give a crap what Adam Rittenberg thinks. It's inconsequential. He's not an insider with the program and he's trying to cover 11 teams. Trying to win the national media's approval is a futile exercise. He's the same guy that said Obi Ezeh had a good game against UConn.
I do think RR is back.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:13 PM ^
November 7th, 2010 at 8:19 PM ^
65 points against and he is back???? I guess we have lowered our expectations a lot around here.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:25 PM ^
I don't care if the other teams score 70 points in every game, as long as we won. Last I checked, 67 is more than 65.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:25 PM ^
Don't you ever get sick of trolling? What fun is it, really? I'm curious.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:25 PM ^
I don't care if the other teams score 70 points in every game, as long as we win. Last I checked, 67 is more than 65.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:31 PM ^
November 7th, 2010 at 9:08 PM ^
I think it's more of an idea amongst people that it's unlikely that we lose to Purdue (and I share this belief, Purdue is not a good football team). And assuming that fact, we finish the season 7-5 and RichRod is essentially guaranteed another season at the helm. I don't thinks it's so much that "we're back" as opposed to more of that we are going to have another season from which to judge what it is we have in Rich Rodriguez.
November 8th, 2010 at 4:57 AM ^
Let you make shity posts
November 7th, 2010 at 8:31 PM ^
Purdue is a must win game...we cannot lose to them 3 years in a row PERIOD!
November 7th, 2010 at 8:41 PM ^
PERIOD!!!1!!
November 7th, 2010 at 9:01 PM ^
Oh, shit...
/calls RichRod, informs him.
Whew. That was close.
November 7th, 2010 at 10:15 PM ^
November 7th, 2010 at 8:40 PM ^
I think RR was officially "back" after the NCAA findings backed up his version of the events and exonerated him concerning the "failure to provide an atmosphere of compliance" charge. DB has said all along that wins and losses are not the yardstick he will use, and that there is no "magic number."
From what the players say in interviews and the way they act on and off the field, it is obvious that RR is doing a lot of very right things in developing the players as young men who take responsibility for their actions and try very hard to act like role models. In addition, they are growing and improving as football players.
Really, other than the southern accent, the modern offense, and his W-L record so far, RR is a quintessential "Michigan Man." DB knows this and now has ammunition against admins or boosters who complain behind RR's back. And that W-L record will get much better in a year or two.
November 8th, 2010 at 12:17 AM ^
because the negatives still outweigh the positives. Poor record, bad decisions made in recruiting, NCAA sanctions applied to UM for first time, falling behind MSU in football....honestly, I do see how even a lawyer could successfully argue for RR with that track record thus far.
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<br>Add to that the general lack of support for the man among alums and fans and it is still a near run thing that he keeps the job.
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<br>So much had gone wrong--much of it
<br>not of his doing-- that assuming he us back us based on emotion more than logic.
November 8th, 2010 at 5:08 AM ^
November 8th, 2010 at 1:20 PM ^
Add to that the general lack of support for the man among alums and fans and it is still a near run thing that he keeps the job.
The Michigan fanbase is a pretty diverse group of people made up of alumni, large donors, "WalMart Wolverines," and the student body. I'd say that the majority of the student body probably supports Rodriguez. There is at least as much "general" support for Rodriguez as not among the alumni and rest of the fanbase, only it's not the supporters who are yelling, "Go back to West Virginia" and "Get Jim Harbaugh" in the stadium on game days.
The factors you mentioned are certainly relevant, though I disagree with some of your assumptions. There are many other factors that have affected the coach and our program since January of 2008, and that will also weigh on Dave Brandon's decisions regarding Rodriguez's tenure at Michigan. I defy anyone to come up with an example of another newly hired head coach who has faced the kind of perfect storm that Rodriguez has since his hiring. The fact that he's still standing at all is remarkable in and of itself.
I'm a Rich Rod supporter, just as I was a Lloyd Carr supporter when there many calls for his firing. If the head coach succeeds, Michigan succeeds. I'm also the first one to say that if time shows Rodriguez can't get the job done here, then we should move on. But the key is time. He can't recruit college juniors and seniors or magically endow underclassmen with experience. As Brandon said, there are a lot of criteria that go into that decision, and I'm confident he won't throw the baby out with the bath water.
November 7th, 2010 at 9:06 PM ^
RR IS coming back ffs. There's no IF he comes back. He's coming back, I guarantee it.
November 7th, 2010 at 11:24 PM ^
We've got to take care of business this week. A loss would squander a lot of the goodwill generated from the Illinois win. Win this one and he's probably home free.
November 8th, 2010 at 7:21 PM ^
Well, I'm so glad that you have decided R.R.'s fate. He will sleep better knowing that YOU have guaranteed it.
November 7th, 2010 at 9:27 PM ^
I have no doubt RR is coming back, but I have a feeling Brandon is going to make RR clean house on the defensive side and bring in a new DC who brings his OWN guys with him, and gets to run his OWN defense, whatever that may be, with little to no meddling (harsh word?) by RR.
November 7th, 2010 at 9:41 PM ^
RR is back, no question. Why would we want to go through another 3 year transformation? The defense should see a complete overhaul. Special teams could use some help too.
November 7th, 2010 at 9:47 PM ^
What makes DB more knowledgeable about football than an experienced head coach to decide whether the defensive coaches need to be replaced? A visit to the sidelines during a practice and a game? I would hope that RR would be the one to go to DB and ask his support in making such a change if he (RR) believes it is necessary.
November 7th, 2010 at 10:06 PM ^
He's the boss, that's why he gets to decide. It's really that simple. I don't think it's at all unusual for a top executive to enforce staffing changes on his underlings if he thinks it's necessary.
November 7th, 2010 at 10:19 PM ^
He hires/fires said coach and those like him, and runs an athletic program that depends on Michigan football making a ton of money to sustain everybody else. Empty seats and unhappy donors have a loud voice, and it's in his best interest to gather as much information as possible to either dissuade their opinion or see that they're right.
And are you also forgetting the fact that DB played football at Michigan? He's got a bit more of a grasp of what this program is and should be than pretty much any of us MGoArmchairs do. And three more Big 10 championship rings than most of us have, too.
November 7th, 2010 at 10:24 PM ^
purdue should be a win, if we can upset wisc or OSU to get to 8, and then if we get a favorable bowl matchup we could be 9-4. That would make a lot of people happy.
November 7th, 2010 at 10:27 PM ^
November 7th, 2010 at 10:40 PM ^
UM is pretty much a sophomore team, in 2012 it will be a fast as senior
November 8th, 2010 at 10:44 AM ^
team beatdown on a dormitory full of handicapped kids, RR is back for 2010 even if we don't win another game. Some heads will be asploding around these parts.
November 8th, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^
The guy has been put through hell the past three years. I hope he continues to win so he can receive more love from the Michigan faithful. When you win at Michigan your a king, so heres to more wins for Rich Rod.
November 8th, 2010 at 7:27 PM ^
There are some real sensitive people on this site. In about 2 weeks I have gone from +200 points to -115, because I questioned weather or not R.R. should come back.
I was a supporter of bringing Rich Rod in and I gave him a chance but winning a game 67-65 doesn't mean he has a clean slate. I won't root against him, though. I want him to win-if he stays. It kills me to hear people say they are Michigan fans but they want them to lose so he gets fired. If you root against Michigan, you can't call yourself a fan.