ESPN's Ivan Maisel on how Harbaugh made Michigan so good so fast
Nothing groundbreaking here, but a solid read.
EDIT: I'll put this one here as well instead of starting a new thread. From The USA Today, Michigan alum Nicole Auerbach on Sparty angst:
October 16th, 2015 at 10:18 AM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 10:25 AM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 10:25 AM ^
So much Michigan fluff nationally right now. I love it. Hope the players aren't reading it, but I love it. This weekend is going to be fun.
October 16th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 11:06 AM ^
I'm hoping to not be nervous around 5pm
October 16th, 2015 at 10:28 AM ^
Captain Obvious.
October 16th, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 11:06 AM ^
While I feel like I've read this type of article already, it was a good way to pass a few minutes on a Friday before the big game.
October 16th, 2015 at 12:50 PM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 11:40 AM ^
media were 8-4, with 9-3 being considered the upper range if things went well. Vegas set the o/u line at 7.5. I don't think anybody saw this coming so fast, nor the possibility of the defense playing at this level.
October 16th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
Not the worst thing I've read this week but it's got the usual "Harbaugh's genius is building player confidence" bullcrap.
Harbaugh changed everything from top to bottom with a mindset very obvious to those who've been there: people aren't good because they're confident; they're confident because they're good. Michigan was not good, and Harbaugh addressed that. If he thought confidence was the key, he wouldn't have four-hour practices. He wouldn't have put the team in a submarine. He wouldn't ruthlessly compare players at everything, ensuring someone is always at the bottom of the heap. He wouldn't call RPS+3 plays against Maryland. That's an awful lot of effort and preparation for a guy everyone says is good at getting players to feel warm fuzzies. He's only confident because he knows how to get there, but every media outlet focuses on the goddamn confidence.
Special things can happen when you challenge young people. They're tougher than they think, so you put them in a situation that makes them go "holy crap you want us to WHAT" but when they survive, then they realize what they're capable of. THEN they get confident. Not because they believe they can do it, but because they did it. Harbaugh showed them that.
October 16th, 2015 at 12:46 PM ^
I mean, obviously success builds confidence. But, you also have to have confidence to be successful. A well-coached team is confident because they know exactly what they're doing on the field. Harbaugh's hyper-competetiveness works because he instills the mindset to just FUCKING WIN no matter what. That's confidence. To by a cocky-sumbitch and say "I'm going to win" even before considering whether you're good enough to win is the exact type of confidence that can breed success.
I mean, maybe that's overstated. But I don't think the effect of confidence on success is zero. I think that's precisely why the Utah game, while shaky throughout, was a dogfight the whole time despite the numerous mistakes Michigan kept making. In the past that team would have folded and barely made a whimper by the end.
October 16th, 2015 at 1:31 PM ^
To by a cocky-sumbitch and say "I'm going to win" even before considering whether you're good enough to win is the exact type of confidence that can breed success. I mean, maybe that's overstated.
It is. Saying "I'm going to win" before anything else leads to putting a tent stake into your rival's turf before getting your ass whomped. But I get your point; it's hard to win if you're in a shell. But to my point, look at the things Harbaugh's doing -- working them like dogs, ranking them relentlessly, redshirting the #2 QB. He does very little that strikes me as ego-boosting activities. Ranking a player #105 out of 105 isn't the recipe for making a cocky sumbitch. He does have a reward structure but you have to deliver first.
If anything, about confidence breeding success. . . Well, if you're right on that point, that makes everyone wrong about Harbaugh. Speaking of Utah, here's Harbaugh after the loss:
I really thought our guys knew what they were doing for the most part and really executed what they were doing, and they can execute it a lot faster and a lot better. They know it, and I think they were kind of double checking themselves both offensively and defensively. ‘Hey, I know this.’ Boom, go, yeah. Where [here] they knew it, ‘Oh, let me double check myself’ and that created some hesitation but for the most part they really did a good job knowing what to do and then doing it but do it at a faster pace and a faster, higher level.
That's Harbaugh himself saying the players weren't confident in what they were doing. With all the time they spent in practice, confidence was one of the last things Harbaugh focused on, if he focused on it at all. And ESPN (and the rest of the media) is saying his genius is making players confident? He's almost the exact opposite. He understands the importance of confidence, but didn't go out of his way to instill it. If anything, forcing the issue implies that's the biggest mistake he's made all year, but I prefer to think he just figured it'd come eventually and he was right.
October 16th, 2015 at 2:49 PM ^
Point well taken, I see exactly what you're saying.
October 16th, 2015 at 5:46 PM ^
That quote basically means Harbaugh agrees with you, not me, about how confidence is needed for success. Not a bad chap to see eye-to-eye with.
I just want the media's "Magical Cheerleader Harbaugh" narrative to die because it's bunk.
October 16th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 16th, 2015 at 1:06 PM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 3:17 PM ^
The athletic department itself hasn't fully cleaned house. Not by a longshot. The football staff? Yes.
October 16th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
I am not going to dare say I thought anything more now - I thought just Harbaugh Harbaughing would get us 3 more wins. The sexiest thing is the overwhelming competence in coaching FOOTBALL. It's that simple. I don't know if I am more amazed at how well this group of players is playing or at how bad Brady Hoke, et al, were as a staff. Combined with the non compos mentis of the athletic department under Pizza Jesus, it's amazing what competence can do.
October 16th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
I'm sticking with it. Talent was here. Coaching was not. Fixed, with monumental improvements. Can't be perfect yet, but in the right direction. No matter what happens tomorrow, I look forward to the renewal of tough, hard fought games, helmet crackin' attitude toward the opponent, and much improved focus and fundamentals by the Wolverines.
October 16th, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 1:40 PM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 1:47 PM ^
October 16th, 2015 at 3:14 PM ^
than was present on the roster last January and it wasn't a skill set he could teach in spring practice and a fall camp to the level that he needed. Rudock was a lot closer to the required skill set and when he came available Harbaugh wisely grabbed him. A fortuitous circumstance for all involved.
Unless he wins the job next year, we'll never know what Shane could become with two years of Harbaugh's coaching under his belt in a stable offense. Harbaugh is attempting to red shirt Shane for a reason, I doubt he'd do that unless he thinks doing so is in the best interest of the team and the program.
October 16th, 2015 at 2:32 PM ^