Alligator arms
This may have been discussed here already, but what is the reaction to Massey short-arming that pass to the end zone? I want to check with the pious to see if we are filing this under “these are 21 yr old college kids, not professionals, they give 100% for UM and we should love them all no matter what they do on the field,” or if I'm a bad person because I got pissed.
Turns out I’m not even pissed though, its worse then that.
Slaughterhouse-Five, as many of you prob know, is a book about a guy named Billy Pilgrim, a WWII American POW in Germany who witnessed and survived the fired bombing of Dresden, along with other WWII POW-type carnage and atrocities. After Dresden the surviving Americans wander off out of the city but come back the next day to look for spoils, riding in a carriage. Upon arriving back in Dresden, it is pointed out to Billy by a couple of Kraut doctors that the horses pulling their carriage have neither proper bits nor horse shoes. Billy gets down and sees the bleeding mouths and cracked hoofs, and bursts into tears. It’s was the only time he cried during the war.
In my time following UM football, I’ve been wrapped in a fairly comfy cocoon of predictable emotion. Elation following important wins and blowouts. Annoyance following poor performances in a win. Applying a balm of perspective and all-time scoreboard to the stinging frustration of a loss, with varied results.
This season has exposed the M football fan to a series of numbing events and shocking imagery for which we simply are not equipped to deal. I watched UM have a FG blocked them muff a punt within 3 minutes of each other. Witnessed Zoltan get blocked. Saw NW 3rd and goal from the 17 converted. A white Northwestern receiver broke 10 yards open behind our coverage on a 53 yard touchdown pass. As I have since Toledo, I shuffled these events into the context of the game, loosely calculated their effect, and waited.
Then that goddamn pass to Massey. I’m not trying to go Lou Holtz or Nick Saban on you, nor am I trying to kick dirt in the face of a 21 year old kid. But when that pass went up I said, “touchdown.” Watching a senior’s hands go up for the ball (on senior day), then jerk back down as he tensed up, and north-freakin’-western intercepted the tying score... that was the play that finally got to me.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:35 PM ^
that pass was high. in my mind koger catches that ball as he's athletic and doesn't suck. but once again the ball was high.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:37 PM ^
he tried to turn back for it and looked awkward
November 17th, 2008 at 1:39 PM ^
I only think it looked high because Massey did like a jump fall and pulled his arms down. I don't think the pass was that high in the air, and when it was thrown I also thought it was a touchdown.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:41 PM ^
Massey thought there was a receiver 5 yards behind him. I don't blame him, it was way too high.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:42 PM ^
Massey had no chance on that pass. The TV angle wasn't a good angle, but it was a poorly thrown ball. Not even Koger would have caught it. I thought it was going to be a touchdown simply because Massey was wide open, but as the ball got nearer to him, I realized it was way too high.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:48 PM ^
I'm not sure. It reminded me of those goals in soccer where the goalie jumps, punches up at the ball, and his hands are still below the crossbar and the ball tucks in the net just under the bar. The goalie could have just stood with his hands straight up and touched the ball.
I guess we'll know after someone determines how high the ball was.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:48 PM ^
A lot of players jump for balls that they can't get. It shows effort and the desire to make a play. If you're a senior playing in your last game (likely) on the team, I think you jump for that ball. It's like he was cool with not scoring a touchdown.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:52 PM ^
looked high and behind him to me. it's hard to jump up and backwards from a dead run.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:52 PM ^
...but if you know you don't have an 80-inch vertical...? I'm not saying jumping is bad, but you can't criticize a guy for not jumping when he clearly has no shot at catching the ball. Do we criticize Earl Boykins for not trying to block Shaq?
November 17th, 2008 at 1:56 PM ^
NOT a good analogy. Here's the thing, if he reaches and jumps and still can't catch the ball, then we know it's not his fault. But he didn't, and to me, it looked like he may have had a shot.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:08 PM ^
Dude, he had no shot. What kind of analogy are you looking for? Should I still hit on Jessica Alba even though she's married and a mom and I'm boring and could stand to use 15 pounds? As Reggie Bush is crossing the 5-yard line heading into the end zone, should a DT at the 15-yard line still dive for his ankles?
Mike Massey isn't playing to show YOU it's not his fault. He's playing because he likes playing football. Whose "fault" it is should be determined by the coaches. Maybe Threet was off (which is likely, considering his past inconsistencies on deep balls). Maybe Massey was supposed to run a fly instead of a post. The ball was uncatchable, so it doesn't matter whether he jumped or kept sprinting or curled up like a rolly polly.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:55 PM ^
I think the UFR will show how uncatchable that ball was. With that said, Massey looked ridiculous on the play.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:02 PM ^
The ball was VERY LIKELY uncatchable. Mike Massey is a fifth-year senior who hasn't caught very many passes this year. If I remember correctly, that catch would have tied the game at 21 (assuming an accurate extra point attempt). If that ball was catchable, I think we can be pretty sure that Massey would have made an effort to catch it.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:09 PM ^
This pass was likely uncatchable, but jumping for it could have distracted the DB or blocked the view of the ball so as to make the INT harder. Plus, showing effort is always appreciated.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:17 PM ^
Don't forget one thing: he is a Massey.
But still, I don't think it was catchable. Even for Antonio Gates.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:24 PM ^
I wasn't upset that he didn't jump for it. I was very upset that he was in the game at all in the 2nd half. Sheridan also threw wildly to him on the last possession. When trying to score pts to tie the game the worst possible combo to see on the field is Sheridan to Massey.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:55 PM ^
My original post prob came out wrong anyway, so to elaborate:
I watched the reply several times. The ball was over his head and slightly behind him. How far over his head? I saw a ball that could have been caught without full extension, merely raising the arms and reaching back.
We’ll never know how far it may or may not have been out of his grasp because he didn’t even get his arms 3 quarters of the way extended before he turtled.
Was he scared? Did he think there was another M receiver behind him? Did he simply give up on the play? It doesn’t really matter to me because I don’t bring it up for the purpose of questioning the guy’s heart. As I rewatched that play to try and determine if my white-hot anger at Massey was justified or not, I went from fan frustration to an empathy for the humiliation, “deserved” or not, that these players and coaches are absorbing.
Not only is M loosing but they appear completely helpless as its happening.
November 17th, 2008 at 3:01 PM ^
a little OT, but quick question, did Sheridan intentionally throw it out of bounds on the last play of the game?
November 17th, 2008 at 3:02 PM ^
that he thought another receiver was behind him, which is creative, though probably lame. I was far more upset at how shitty the pass was than his aborted leap
November 17th, 2008 at 3:07 PM ^
Threet has been wildly inaccurate on many deep balls this year. I don't know why anyone would assume this was more accurate than the other 20 misfired bombs he's launched so far.
November 17th, 2008 at 4:29 PM ^
Anyone here who was at the game able to weigh in on how close it was?
I'm not saying it was a great throw. It was behind him and over his head. We'll have to agree to disagree as to how far over his head it appeared on T.V. replay. I thought it was catchable or that he could easily have had a hand on it.
It was at least close enough that we are arguing over it, Massey's reaction to the ball looked like an 8 year old girl in gym class, and it was intercepted by the NW player behind him.
November 17th, 2008 at 4:17 PM ^
http://www.michigandaily.com/content/2008-11-17/michigan-will-face-ohio…
maybe it is the angle, but looks catchable.
November 17th, 2008 at 5:01 PM ^
Not only catchable, but a solid effort at least gets his hands on it. Instead the ball isn't even to him yet and he's peeking and pulling his arms down.
November 17th, 2008 at 4:28 PM ^
i know MGOBLOG loves to hate on the Masseys but that ball was completely uncatchable. Not only was it high but it was BEHIND him. it was a shitty throw typical of Threet. if you blame that on Massey than you're dumb. 'It's like he's cool with not scoring a TD on senior game' ---dumbest comment i've read here in a while.
November 17th, 2008 at 4:36 PM ^
Hey man, if you're gonna quote me and say it's dumb, at least get the quote correct. I can change your quotes too to make you sound stupid.
The point is, regardless of the apparent catchability, Massey doesn't give it a good effort. I've very rarely seen a player do what he did on that play, even when the ball isn't where it should be. Had he made an effort for the ball, we wouldn't even be discussing whether or not the ball was catchable. When you give 100%, no one will question this stuff. He didn't.
November 17th, 2008 at 4:48 PM ^
you're a moron though. how do you know that he wasn't giving '100%'? The ball was way above and behind him. Also, he likely thought that the pass wasn't intended for him. It was an awful throw. It's just so dumb how many people hate on him for no apparent reason. He has played very well over the years when he hasn't been injured. Or don't you remember him separating his shoulder and being out the 2nd half of the 06 season and then tearing his ACL and MCL last year vs NW when making a block for Mike Hart. And then every week if you read the press conferences although he hasn't gotten any PT his last year, he always has positive things to say about RR and the team. There's a reason why the younger guys on the team look up to him and it's not b/c 'he doesn't give 100%'.
November 17th, 2008 at 5:10 PM ^
Alright. Disagreeing with someone on a blog is legit, and attacking the person you've never met because of his or her opinion on an issue is where the line is drawn.
I've never said anything about Mike Massey, good or bad, on this blog in my life. And in no point on this thread did I give an opinion on him as a player, just about this one play. If this were Carson Butler or Kevin Koger or anyone else, I would have the same opinion. I was actually of the group who thought he should have played over Butler more often.
Whoever started the thread thought Massey may have been in the wrong on that play. A handful of other people agreed, myself included. Don't call someone a moron because you disagree with their stance.
November 17th, 2008 at 5:48 PM ^
this thread just made me realize though how ridiculous we can be as fans.
November 17th, 2008 at 5:38 PM ^
no question