After reading some of the posts around here, I am shocked by what people are saying about RR. I don't post here often, but I do read the forums quite a bit. What I see is people mistaking game-specific mistakes and lack of execution for deep-rooted issues with the program. I mean, really, the overreaction is getting a little much. It's childish.
First let's start with the offense over the past two games (since everyone can agree it was basically Denard being a man among boys in the first five games). We have had SEVEN turnovers in the past two games. As RR says, we are not good enough to win games with that many turnovers. Then again, who is? And keep in mind we are playing with sophomore quarterbacks, one of whom wasn't able to hit the broad side of a barn last year. These guys are still developing and are going to make boneheaded mistakes. By the way, most teams with sophomore quarterbacks not meant to be first-round NFL draft picks are going to struggle. That's just how it is.
With that said, what more do you want offensively after watching yesterday? 300 yards passing, 100 rushing? Over 500 yards against THAT defense? This is a defense with a top-10 draft pick, virtually all seniors or upperclassmen, with Norm Parker who has been there a long time. We have been yelling and screaming for a more diverse and active offense all those years under LC and we finally got it. Don't complain.
Okay, the defense blows. We can all agree with that. Now, look at the depth chart. Our seniors are role players, not dominators, save for Mouton. At some points we are literally throwing backups on the field and hoping that we don't give up six. That is how little depth we have. Just look at when we sub in Patterson. The secondary is a mess with a host of true freshmen or guys not cut out to be premier corners. And don't even start to blame GERG--I guarantee he is a better DC than most. Starting a former WR at FS as a frosh is not a start to a good defense.
Okay, you knew all that. But then you start to play the blame game and say that RR should be fired (or at least on a tight leash) since he hasn't been able to put together even a Northwestern-level defense. Yes, maybe RR should have never gone after Demar Dorsey because of grades, but are you going to fault a guy because he thought he could get a guy who would help us immediately? Turner, Cissoko, Warren, and Woolfolk were definitely not his fault. Not to mention the guys in the 2008 class (whose slots in the recruiting charts should mean that they would be our starters now) who barely made it to campus before leaving.
So, who do I blame? I blame Cissoko for making bad decisions, Warren for leaving early, Turner for never stepping up, Woolfolk's ankle for exploding, and, yes, RR for recruiting Dorsey. Oh, and the fact that Lloyd crapped the bed on the 2007 and 2008 classes.
But you have heard all of this before. So why do you refuse to listen? Probably because, naturally, we live in a society of instant gratification and we see MSU and OSU in the national headlines (for good reasons), not to mention beating us. But hey, let MSU have their moment in the sun once every 20 years, and let OSU's empire come crumbling down just like ours did. It will take time. Deal with it. Frosh will be sophomores, sophs will be juniors, and juniors will be seniors.
So, stop whining.
All of your comments have merit, but why do we all have to be "RR Apologists" or "RR haters?"
Can I just be an alum that loves MICHIGAN and wants to see our football program succeed? Because I don't give a damn who coaches our team as well as the boys play fundamentally sound football, behave themselves on and off the field, and uphold our Michigan tradition.
Polarization is killing Michigan football, not the coaching staff. A house divided doesn't stand.