Could this team be better with same players?
Does it not seem like our defense has really been just getting better all season? Does it not seem like we are doing better in the trenches even on offense?
Now, does it not seem like all the "skill players" (offense especially) have totally regressed to shit?
Obviously a lot of it centers around the QB, and I'm hoping this bye week gives his bones some much needed rest... but if funchess and gardner actually played up to their potential again for a couple games with the way teh defense has been holding teams up, wouldn't this team have a ton more potential to win. (I.E. points)
Does it look like that young OL has been actually getting better?
I don't want to suggest we don't go balls out for Harbaugh, I wanted him back in A2 when he was coaching stanford.... Just some observations I've seen lately.
When people were comparing that NW vs ND game, I think some people forgot what the box score actually looked like when we had a goose egg on the scoreboard....
Am I crazy in thinking that SOME of this team is developing a little bit?
I wonder what the spread will be in columbus...
November 18th, 2014 at 7:59 AM ^
November 18th, 2014 at 10:33 AM ^
You realize that if you look at the two deep, UM's starting defense has almost the exact same amount of years on campus as MSU? (For two deep info on teams I go to www.ourlads.com/ncaa-football-depth-charts). MSU's starting defense has 44 yrs on campus and UM has 41. According to this site, Alabama starts 5 underclassmen? How in the world can their defense be so good when it's so young?
ND's defense is awful. In the last 5 games against ND the opponent has scored 42, 31, 39, 55 and 43.
November 18th, 2014 at 1:04 PM ^
November 17th, 2014 at 7:21 PM ^
Short answer: Yes.
November 17th, 2014 at 7:30 PM ^
You are who you are and 5-5 is mediocre. After 10 games and countless practices if you have a tiny bit of talent you progress. This team on offense all around has regressed, and maybe these guys, although highly touted, just can't be better than they are no matter who coaches them.
November 17th, 2014 at 7:30 PM ^
yes absolutely. While we have had a very disappointing season so far, there has been improvement.
That's why we need to keep Hoke.
By firing him, we set ourselves back another 5-7 years at the very least. There isn't a single quality coach who will want to come here with the revolving door that we'll prove ourselves to be by firing Hoke....Harbaugh included. Hoke has us on the righ ttrajectory and he'll get the job done, we just need to be patient.
November 17th, 2014 at 7:37 PM ^
November 17th, 2014 at 7:49 PM ^
nope. Just think about this logically and not emotionally. We'll have fired two coaches after 3 and 4 years respectively. One we fired solely because he wasn't a "Michigan Man" and the other we'll have fired because we weren't patient enough.
Now if you're a potential candidate what do you see in the University of Michigan?
We've got a great tradition and plenty of talent, but there is a ton of pressure to deliver results and deliver them early. If you don't win big within the first 3 years you're essentially out of a job (Proven by RR) and even if you do win big early on, you better not have a down year (evidenced by the vitriol towards Hoke). Add that pressure into all the different factions and politics that come with this job, why would any reasonable coach accept this job? We're a 2nd tier or even 3rd tier Big Ten job at best so why come to a place where you know that at the end of 4 years you'll probably be looking for a new job unless you can pull off some miracle?
Are there some coaches arrogant enough to believe that they could win here and bring us back? of course. But the fanbase has shown that they despise arrogant coaches, so none of them will want to come here either. That's why it's essential for us to give Hoke at least another year if not 2. We need to let Hoke fully develop his team and hope it works out. If it doesn't fine, then at least potential replacements will see that we gave Hoke a fair shake, something they won't see if we fire him at the end of this year.
November 17th, 2014 at 7:57 PM ^
November 17th, 2014 at 8:15 PM ^
The factions of the Michigan fan base and higher ups have persisted during both Bill Martin's and David Brandon's tenure's as AD. So, where's the evidence that they will suddenly reunite and become one solely because there is a new AD? It's the politics and "Michigan Man" crap that is keeping us from realizing our potential and I don't see anyway those factions re-align within the next 10+ years. So in essence, yes the next Michigan coach will be walking into EXACTLY the same situation as RR and Hoke did.
November 17th, 2014 at 9:01 PM ^
Except based on what we've heard over the last few days everything you've said is incorrect.
November 17th, 2014 at 10:03 PM ^
but if it was anthing reported on this site or others like it (247sports, rivals, scout) then I put absolutely zero credence into whatever was said. This is a blog, not CNN. While Brian and the rest of guys here do a good job reporting on what their sources tell them, We've been burned and mislead by so many "sources" that I put absolutely zero stock into what they say. I find what they and other "insiders" report interesting but I don't honestly believe a single thing they say... not until I see it with my own eyes. I guess I'm in the "show me crowd". Again, that's not taking anything away Brian and the other guys, we've just been burned way way way too many times, so if it's been reported that the factions have unified then my first thought is that the factions are more divided then ever before.
November 18th, 2014 at 7:43 AM ^
November 17th, 2014 at 9:12 PM ^
November 18th, 2014 at 9:19 AM ^
So Rodriguez deserved to be fired because he's incompetent but maybe we should bring Hoke back because?
Rodriguez's defense was lifeless, but Hoke's offense is...what exactly?
Rodriguez had no significant recruits, except those recruits then won the Sugar Bowl and went 12-4 in the Big Ten over Hoke's first two years...?
Are you insane? Honestly, you make no sense.
November 17th, 2014 at 9:44 PM ^
Keeping Hoke would set us back even longer. He has been given four years which is plenty of time and an infinite amount of resources and didn't do dick with it. We have gotten appreciably worse this year and weren't competitive in half our games. In four years, we haven't been a better team than us and lost to teams worse than us. No upsets. Just met expectations and beat the teams we were supposed to beat and lost to the teams we were supposed to lose to (and some we weren't). Another year or two of the same mediocre results would erode whatever support he has left and would make it that much harder to come back from. There has been zero evidence of being able to "turn it around"
He was given everything possible to succeed and failed. No coach is going to be scared of that, especially at Hoke's salary. Its another BS excuse to give a "Michigan" man another year when he barely deserves to finish out this year based on his performance so far. They see a big program, with tons of support and tons of resources and great facilities. No potential coach is going to be scared because Hoke was fired after shitting the bed for 2 straight years.
November 17th, 2014 at 10:07 PM ^
Bo asked for at least 5 years to show what he could do. Why doesn't Brady deserve the same? Also, no decent, quality coach will want to come to the revolving door that is Michigan after we fire Brady, and I'm saying this as a very pro RR guy. I think RR got an extremely raw and unfair deal here and he could have won big had we been patient and now we're reaping the consequences of our inpatience. But for the sake of our program, we can't make that same mistake again.
November 17th, 2014 at 11:01 PM ^
''Yeah no coach is going to want to come to Notre Dame after the revolving door of coaches they've had.''
As they hire Brian Kelly one of the most highly sought after coaches at the time. Get a grip dude.
November 17th, 2014 at 10:06 PM ^
The idea that the HC job at Michigan is something that highly competitive coaches would avoid is one of the dumber things that pops up on this site.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 17th, 2014 at 10:13 PM ^
what tier the job is in isn't based on 1 year. However, the program has been in the dumps for the last decade and there isn't any end in sight to that. Furthermore, take away the bias and we're clearly not a top tier job. There are at least 15 other HC jobs that are better than this one that I can list off the top of my head.
As far as head coache's avoiding this job, I don't see what's so dumb about that. would you prefer to work for a stable company making 3.5 million dollars or an extremely unstable one with constant turnover making 4 million? Most sane and rational people would choose option A.
November 18th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
I've said it before, I'll say it again--any team that is firing their coach is relatively unstable. That's part of the new HC's job, to restore stability. And while we've had more turnover than anyone wants, 3 coaching changes in 7 year (one of which brought on by retirement of a longtime stalwart) is really not that unusual (see: Alabama in the 90s, Notre Dame, Florida...).
November 17th, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
that RR wasn't the first coach on Martin's list. Other coaches either turned down the offer or didn't reciprocate Martin's interest to begin the process.
November 18th, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^
There are lots of reasons why coaches turn down jobs. The expectation that any coach is simply going to leave whatever position they are currently in, no matter how appealing it is or how comfortable they are there to take the Michigan job (or pretty much any other job) is thoroughly unrealistic. The only reason we can even consider talking about Harbaugh right now is because things seem to have turned sour in SF. If everything was going swimmingly there, and he turned us down, would you say, "Oh,, Harbaugh doesn't want the job here because Michigan sucks"? If so, you're an idiot.
November 17th, 2014 at 7:41 PM ^
LOL, you only get one chance to make a first impression. And your first impression doesn't look too good. Or you just made that account to troll.
November 17th, 2014 at 8:16 PM ^
the truth hurts, so I must be a troll as I see things for what they are. Sorry to upset you.
November 17th, 2014 at 7:42 PM ^
You're either obviously trolling, being sarcastic, or related to Hoke.
November 17th, 2014 at 7:49 PM ^
Quit drinking and go to bed.
November 17th, 2014 at 11:57 PM ^
In this particular instance, cut him some slack...he can go to bed and keep drinking.
November 17th, 2014 at 8:03 PM ^
"By firing him, we set ourselves back another 5-7 years at the very least."
hopefully, the next coach starts recruiting those sixth graders right away.
November 17th, 2014 at 8:19 PM ^
and I actually understand it. Unfortunately it's not the next coach that needs to start recruiting those sixth graders, but the one we hire after running Hoke's replacement out of town that needs to start recruiting them.
November 17th, 2014 at 8:17 PM ^
I don't think that word means what you think it means.
"Hoke has us on the righ ttrajectory." (sic). Hoke has had a worse record each year. If you're a Michigan fan, that isn't the right trajectory.
November 17th, 2014 at 8:23 PM ^
I also understand how football works. Hoke was left with a quality team when he first took over but there was little to no talent in his underclassmen during that inital first year. So as the years have gone by, he's had less talent and experience to work with. Hoke's 3rd and 4th years were always going to be a down time for the very get go. He was handcuffed to begin with. Can't blame the man for a problem he didn't create. The problem is entirely on Carr.
November 17th, 2014 at 10:12 PM ^
November 17th, 2014 at 10:16 PM ^
yes but OSU is a quality program that has sustained a history of success. Us on the other hand, while we do have a history of success, haven't been competitive or relevent in a decade. Plus the recruiting talent in Michigan isn't nearly what it is in Ohio. You can't compare the programs. It's apples and oranges.
November 17th, 2014 at 11:04 PM ^
How many of our starters are even from Michigan?
So your premise on why OSU can replace guys who graduated with freshman and still be good is because they were born in Ohio. Gotcha.
November 17th, 2014 at 11:09 PM ^
is that over the last decade OSU has cultured a climate of success and has the mindset to go along with it. Michigan on the other hand has created a soft culture where losing is okay. "Win's are just a statistic" remember.
It takes time for that culture and mindset to change. It's not easy to do and Hoke is working on it and needs to be given the necessary time to change that culture.
My point about Ohio was that it's easier for them to recruit great athletes as their state is much more rich in talent than ours.
November 17th, 2014 at 11:22 PM ^
And yet Funchess, a player Hoke recruited, is the one that said ''Wins are just a statistic.'' How exactly is Hoke working on it again?
November 17th, 2014 at 11:25 PM ^
Do you think Hoke likes losing? Maybe you believe that Hoke is pleased with how the season has gone and that when he took over the job this exactly where he imagined he'd be in year 4. I on the other hand believe that Hoke is working his tail off to restore this program to greatness and that pulling us up from the doldrums Carr put us in isn't going to be an over-night fix. Hoke needs to be given the time and if in a few years he still isn't getting the job done, then fine, fire him. But at least we'll have showed future coach's that we won't abandon them at the first sign of trouble.
November 17th, 2014 at 11:57 PM ^
The first sign of trouble was early last year. It's been all trouble since.
November 17th, 2014 at 9:03 PM ^
5-7 years?
I would love to know where you came up with that number.
Recruits are decommiting left and right because they know this staff can't develop players and don't want to play for a coach that loses more games every year.
Also I'd love for you to explain how the team has gotten worse every year there has been less Rich Rod recruits.
November 17th, 2014 at 9:10 PM ^
Thanks I needed a laugh. Good thing there is still Hoke supporters around here who provide comic relief daily. Brady Hoke is a bad coach who never deserved to coach here. We're the only program dumb enough to hire a lifetime loser coach and think he's gonna change into Bo cause he coached D Line here.
November 17th, 2014 at 7:30 PM ^
is projecting OSU -18
November 17th, 2014 at 7:37 PM ^
I think the " new" press with the corners thing died against ND and it took us several weeks to adjust. We basically lost all the preseason prep working on a system that never came to fruition. Just my observation.
November 17th, 2014 at 7:58 PM ^
I think Ryan has played well once we were a few games in and offenses have a lot more trouble scheming away from him. Seems like it panned out like Mattison wanted it to. Would have been nice to see Peppers in that secondary.
November 17th, 2014 at 8:18 PM ^
November 17th, 2014 at 10:46 PM ^
Ryan is doing well IMO.
The press cover thing might have worked if Peppers stayed healthy...
November 17th, 2014 at 7:43 PM ^
November 17th, 2014 at 8:00 PM ^
I admire your ability to dream.
November 17th, 2014 at 8:59 PM ^
November 18th, 2014 at 9:21 AM ^
But he's not. And a lot of it boils down to how he was handled during his time here by Hoke/Borges.
And on top of that, they have no one to replace him with because they were/are woeful at QB recruiting.
So what is your point?