Comrades,
As much as our special teams suffered for losing Hagerup, I have to admire RR for suspending him even though it had a huge negative impact on the game and given that RR is under fire professionally. RR knows that if he lets Hagerup play in that situation, he'll never be able to enforce team rules again. That is a guy who is trying to build a program, and whatever you think of RR, I respect him for that.
I wonder if we'll ever find out what Hagerup actually did.
Yeah, I'm not sure Hagerup
Maybe in a way he could've
Maybe in a way he could've helped. That ensuing drive after they returned the kick for the TD was, I believe, the tipping point in the game. We had that 20 yard pass to Stonum called back because Jeremy Jackson was still moving at the snap, then we stalled, then had to punt and only punted it to our own 35, which of course lead to another OSU TD. Would Hagerup have punted better than that? Probably, at least giving OSU a much longer field than 35 yds. Would it have made a difference in the game? You never know. Pryor could've thrown a pick, something, because of the longer field. But, whatever. Just pointing out that it could've possibly had a significant impact.
It didn't matter. We were bad
It didn't matter. We were bad today.
Dunno...
...that first 18 yard punt was a KILLER. Argh. Still, kudos to RR for doing the right thing.
Rules are rules. No exceptions.
The shank by Broekhuizen
Was a big momentum shift in the game, so I would say it did matter.
Also, RR didn't know that it wouldn't matter when he suspended him.
"I call that Communist football. I'm so tired of it. Good, red-blooded Americans snap the ball, hand it to the guy and have a normal run game or pass game."
—Steve Szabo, Michigan linebackers coach, November 2007
We're not good enough to
We're not good enough to blame it just on the punter. Or hell the punter at all.
True, but the point stands.
True, but the point stands. RR didn't know how the game would unfold when he suspended the punter and RR deserves credit for doing the right thing when his career is on the line.
I I'm giving him points for
I I'm giving him points for doing what should be done, but not extra points. Suspending your freshman punter is inconsequential when your team is so out matched. RR did what he should do. With how bad this team is, i'm not going to be patting him on the back for doing exactly what he should be doing. This game was terrible. There are no small consolation prizes.
Probably should have had Tate
Probably should have had Tate do more punts or quick kicks instead of Broek...
"Prejudiced? Partial? You better b'leeve I am. Michigan football is a religion and Saturday's the holy day of obligation." Bob Ufer
I applaud you
For applauding our coach, on this day. Ballsy.
agreed. +1 for you sir
.
This is what our program has
This is what our program has become. Applauding the coach for suspending the punter after getting blowing out by Ohio State. I wish I was old enough to experience Michigan football under Bo.
I'm with you. I thought it
I'm with you. I thought it took courage for Rich to suspend him and even more courage for you to salute him for it.
BTW - the news that Haggerup was out today was reported on Mgoblog first waaaaay before anyone had it. This board is amazing.
Thanks Comrade
Though I would humbly say that my job isn't on the line for pointing out RR's good deeds.
"I call that Communist football. I'm so tired of it. Good, red-blooded Americans snap the ball, hand it to the guy and have a normal run game or pass game."
—Steve Szabo, Michigan linebackers coach, November 2007
But your points sure are.
But your points sure are.
I don't really sweat the MGoPoints thing
I honestly don't know how I accumulate most of my points, and that's fine by me. I just try to present my opinion honestly and respectfully, and try to contribute something to the discussion. If people want to neg me for that, that's their choice. It's a free country (until the Communists are in charge).
"I call that Communist football. I'm so tired of it. Good, red-blooded Americans snap the ball, hand it to the guy and have a normal run game or pass game."
—Steve Szabo, Michigan linebackers coach, November 2007
RR is a good guy and a very good coach
He needs to be here one more year. We are a sophomore team, the top teams in the big 10 Wisconsin and OSU, MSU and Iowa are all senior teams. Wisonsin loses 24 seniors this year. Our defense has improved during this year our offense of course has improved much from last year. We will be strong next year. I have been an avid fan since the 1970's I myself used to complain about our vanilla offense (so did a lot of long time fans when we would get close but never win the big one, the complaint was no vision in the offense). Well we went in the complete opposite direction with the spread, and if the people who hired RR didn't realize it would take 3-4 hard years at best to convert then that is a problem. The team will be fine next year, I think RR will be back and should, I think he IS successful thi syear when you look at all the shit people have thrown at him since he left WVU. He got here and really hasn't been fully supported from the beginning, I have lived long enough to know, no boss gets the job done with so many people going against him. He finally has the team on his side and still has to deal with the media and some fans.
Nice.
This is a very well written post.
If the haters don't hate you then you're doing something wrong. - David Cone
Absolutely
Same kind of integrity that kept Denard out against Illinois when he was showing concussion symptoms.
It was the right thing to do
The problem is you only get to beat the integrity drum when you win, because anyone can do things the right way and lose.
"I love him, he's a great coach, he's a great mentor, he's a great friend. He's every single thing you want a college coach to be, and he does it flawlessly." -David Molk
Completely agree - and it
Completely agree - and it cost us in the game. Stand-up move by RR.
Try that sentence again,
Try that sentence again, slower. Reading comprehension is fun!
[ETA: The post I was responding to was deleted, making it seem as though I'm responding to the preceding post. Not the case]
Yes, agree 100%,
but that didn't cost us the game. Nobody is (or should) criticize RR's integrity, concern for his players, or the importance he places on education/ discipline. Period.
He has always made the right call regarding players and has always made admirable decisions.
"They're stuck with that quarterback (sophomore Braxton Miller) for the next two or three years, that's fine with me. He throws worse than (Tim) Tebow. - Steve Everitt
ugh
and it cost us in the game
When BO was hired we sucked. UM had 10 straight years
of poor records and the 10 years prior to those 10 years wasn't that good either. BO came in and created the success that we are all used to now. We need to be patient with RR right now because 2 things- 1) the team is getting better each week and is VERY YOUNG and 2) if they change him out now there will be another 3 years of poor seasons with lost recruiting, new coaches and possibly schemes. He needs one more year and I think he gets it. I think with a bowl win they finish 8-5 this year and next year 10-3. Improvement every year.
the team is getting better
the team is getting better each week
If only this were true.
If only your posting improved
If only your posting improved as well, you have had a Tom Hagan type 2nd half of posting:)
You invoke Tom Hagan.
Dude, that's one harsh indictment there.
If the haters don't hate you then you're doing something wrong. - David Cone
I like how neither of you
I like how neither of you even bothered to debate the objection I raised. Sorry folks, but we've passed the point at which it makes sense to blindly believe in this staff.
I'm sorry, but I'm sick of
I'm sorry, but I'm sick of platitudes like "the team is getting better each week." No, it's not. The last two years the team started off strong, and looked worse as the year went on. In what way has our offense "gotten better" over the last seven games than it was in the first five games? Our special teams? Our defense?
There's an argument for Rich Rodriguez, but the team's week-to-week improvement ain't it.
There's no question that the
There's no question that the team regressed later in the season, but if you're looking for week-to-week improvement, that's not the nature of college football. Programs improve/decline over years, not weeks, and progress will be defined not by whether we got better between playing two top 10 teams, but whether the program is better off now than it was in 2009, and will it continue to get better in 2011.
hmmmm....
You say regression...I say better competition.
As an aside, god damned UConn will be paying in the Fiesta Bowl if they win next week...so apparently we were beating BCS teams to start the season...
If the haters don't hate you then you're doing something wrong. - David Cone
WTF????
WTF????
Programs improve/decline over years
Uhhhhh, except for Michigan's 40/32 year consecutive winning seasons/bowl streak.
progress will be defined not by whether we got better between playing two top 10 teams,
I'm sorry but that's complete baloney. Progress is measured by beating up on Delaware State and Blowling Green from year to year but getting blown out by tUoOS, for example? Uhhhhh, top 10 teams *DO* matter... that's where Rose Bowl trips are earned. That's where championships are won.
"What you just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
To be accurate
Michigan was not dominant before Bo got here, but the '68 team was 8-2 and the '64 team was probably one play away from a national championship. Michigan's only loss that year was to Bob Griese's Purdue team, 21-20. Bob Timberlake tried a two-point conversion for the win and was stopped. If he makes that play, Michigan finishes unbeaten and caps the season with a 34-7 Rose Bowl victory.
If we're going to go the history route, it may be relevant to note that today Rodriguez became the first Michigan coach to lose three straight at the same time to OSU and MSU.
We'd actually been up and down in the 10 years before Bo
There were some very bad years (like 1962) but Bump Elliott won the Rose Bowl in the 1964-65 season and went 8-2 in 1968. All of the players on Bo's first team at Michigan in 1969 were Elliott's recruits, too. Freshman weren't eligible to play, so none of Bo's recruits saw the field until 1970.
Where's Charlie Bauman when you need him?
the 1968 team was actually a good one
The 1968 team hardly sucked. It had a record of 8-2, came in second in the Big Ten. Ended up ranked 12th in the AP, and 15th in the coaches (UPI) poll. See http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1968fbt.htmThere were a lot of reasons why Bump Elliott stepped down as coach, though he was not forced out of the position. The 50-14 loss to Ohio State was no doubt one of the reasons he chose not to stay on as head coash. He was offered the Associate Athletic Director position by Don Canham and took it for a couple of years. Bo and the whole team acknowledged him following the 1969 win over OSU by giving him the game ball. The guy was well-liked, and was not forced out, let alone because he had fielded a poor team in 1968.
Gasp. Hold breath. Turn Blue!
posted from iPhone
Aye, cheers.
If nothing else
Rodriguez has totally changed my ignorant perception of him as a greasy slickster through his actions. Though I have little pride in the product on the field, I am proud that Rodriguez has had the guts and integrity to make these kinds of decisions.
Well said
100% endorse.
Think hard
about where your original ["ignorant"] perception came from.
I don't think that I'd be so hard on you, calling you "ignorant." "Misinformed" is not quite the same thing as "ignorant." So where did that come from? Would you say that it was an accumulation of things? The way that the buyout litigation was covered, including rumors from West Virginia? Boren and "family values"? The NCAA saga? The innumerable other little things, each getting repeated in the echo-chamber of sportstalk radio, where everybody is reading the same newpapers and listening to the same guys?
Misinformed is
probably more accurate. It started with me before he took the job. His patented offense and flirtation with the Alabama job in 06 gave him a huckster reputation nationally, and I bought in. His recruitment of Pryor and messy exit from WV didn't help things at the beginning. My opinion of the man has changed a lot since he took the job, not coincidentally as my dependence for information shifted to the blogosphere. His actions, when allowed to shine through the clouded media picture, have proven him to be a good, principled man. After these three years I see a guy with good intentions for the program and the kids, and anybody who still clings to the used-car-salesman image that I did those years ago is indeed badly misinformed.
I agree - it was a classy
I agree - it was a classy move. That said, I'd expect it from any Michigan coach.
Exactly
Rodriquez did what he had to do, I'm glad he did but he was meeting expectations, not exceeding them with the move.
"I want to go back, I gotta go back, to Mi-chi-gan."
Claps
Clap Clap Clap.
Seriously it takes a man with a lot of integrity to not take a starter especially when playing OSU.
You can sum up this sport in two words, 'You never know.'
I applaud you for continuing
I applaud you for continuing to post statistical projections. They're really useful.
Thanks Comrade
Hopefully Denard's dislocated fingers are serviceable by the bowl game.
"I call that Communist football. I'm so tired of it. Good, red-blooded Americans snap the ball, hand it to the guy and have a normal run game or pass game."
—Steve Szabo, Michigan linebackers coach, November 2007
I'm sure Mark Dantonio would
I'm sure Mark Dantonio would make the same decision aren't you?
That's why Mark Dantonio
That's why Mark Dantonio doesn't coach at Michigan.
Mega-kudos to Rodriguez for doing the right thing. Hopefully Hagerup will learn from this and be a model citizen from now on.
"I would hope that understanding and reconciliation are not limited to the 19th hole alone." - President Gerald R Ford, Michigan '35
Dantonio would give Hagerup a third chance
and then that would absolutely, positively, be it.
"I call that Communist football. I'm so tired of it. Good, red-blooded Americans snap the ball, hand it to the guy and have a normal run game or pass game."
—Steve Szabo, Michigan linebackers coach, November 2007
obsessing
with Dantonio
Yeah, I'm not sure Hagerup was the difference. Pretty sure RR knew that. Unless he was planning on unleashing him at safety.