Football predictions after spring game?

Submitted by IPFW_Wolverines on

I'd say 5-7 and that is being optimistic. I am sick to my stomach after watching that.

FreddieMercuryHayes

April 16th, 2011 at 3:36 PM ^

Oh, I totally agree with you, but I gaurentee you there are still people out there that are thinking "see, this is what I told you would happen if we blew up RR's offense and brought in a sub .500 coach".  I personally am much happier to see a defense that looks like it knows what it's doing.  That will make the offense better come fall as well.

mtlcarcajou

April 16th, 2011 at 2:45 PM ^

Didn't see the spring game.

D will be much better, o more consistent than last year's record-setter-or-disappearing-act. Will beat ND, shock sparty on road and pull it out v. Iowa. Neb a washout, probably tosseru loss, maybe get upset by Norwest or Illini.

8-4, maybe even 9-3 - plus a bowl WIN.

Knuckles

April 16th, 2011 at 2:45 PM ^

This will prove to be difficult and will everyone be patient with Hoke." Wait until he get his players to fit his system." That Will be the same thing we would have said about RR. 3 or 4 years to build his product.

M-Wolverine

April 16th, 2011 at 3:36 PM ^

Proves it. I also don't know that we have any better options. I'm kinda neutral on it. I'd like to see him get a chance to succeed or fail in a real game.
<br>
<br>I just knew at the game seeing Cox break it long my first thought was "Magnus must be loving this". Because he had some nice ammunition.
<br>
<br>I also know Smith on 3rd and 1 is stupid.

FingerleBlues

April 16th, 2011 at 2:51 PM ^

I predict that we will finally have our own long blonde-haired LB in Jake Ryan.  As for the other stuff...I will be patient and hope that it all comes together over the next four or so months.  We will be good again!! Go Blue!!

maizemama

April 16th, 2011 at 3:05 PM ^

1. Defense will be much better. They will still be susceptible to pounding ground attacks like Wisconsin. Aggressiveness of the defense will generate a lot of screens by opposing offenses, but may save us from deep throws against our corners (maybe). Jake Ryan is someone to watch.

2. Offense will be a weird hybrid of spread/shotgun and pro-style. Shogun-style? Devin made some poor decisions today, so did Denard. Basically the quarterbacks didn't look like they knew where the receivers were going to be or the receivers ran wrong routes or both.

The offense looked pretty much like it did last year against good defenses. I take that as a plus for our defense.

Prediction based on flimsy evidence: Offense won't be as explosive this year, will cause heart attacks and heartbreaks, but will be good enough to win most games. Defense will be noticeably better against weaker teams, good enough against mediocre teams, and sorely tested against the best competition.

Prediction based on no evidence:  8-4

Things to put in nightly prayers: Denard's legs, Will Campbell's "coachability", Manball

artds

April 16th, 2011 at 3:06 PM ^

I'm very confident we will win more than 3 games, as the team looked far better than they did during the Spring Game of RR's first year.

Beyond that, it's hard to say. The defense looked good and if they continue to progress, we'll have a solid defensive unit for the first time since Bush was Preseident.

Denard has to work on his timing with the receivers, otherwise Devin will be starting in his place.

It will also be huge to have Lewan back.

dinsdale613

April 16th, 2011 at 3:18 PM ^

I really dislike how much hype gets put into Spring Games now, and not just at michigan.  Most major programs have their games televised.  In our quest for constant football knowledge, we have started to treat these practices like real games.  I dont think the coaches and players view it that way  People read far too much into a practice session. 

tdcarl

April 16th, 2011 at 3:22 PM ^

Everyone take a chill pill. If you were there you realize that the weather sucked today. It was really windy, rainy, and cold. Surely not the best recipe for a passing attack.

We were missing key contributors on the O Line

I didn't notice Shaw take any snaps if he did

If the O just railroaded the D today then we would have this exact same thread about how we would suck because the defense was bad. There is just no pleasing fans in a spring game.

Also, why the hell would a coach call a ton of QB run plays today when the qb's were being called down upon being touched? I predict more qb runs will be called in the fall. More zone reads as well.

All of this considered, I don't think we can take too much judgement about the O from this scrimmage. A lot of the good signs from the O last year were the result of Denard playing against one of the worst second string defenses Michigan has ever had. Going against the Mattison 1's while trying to use a new offense is of course going to cause regression from what we saw last year. If I have to make a prediction I'd say 8-4.

Beavis

April 16th, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^

You didn't notice the guy with a huge fucking cast on his right hand take any snaps? Everything you said has zero credibility.

tdcarl

April 16th, 2011 at 3:45 PM ^

I sat in the second row of section 30 so it was really hard to tell what was going on and who was doing it with the running game  when it wasn't happening right in front of us. I just never heard his name called over the hard to hear pa. My bad.  Also, I missed a portion of the game while attending to a friend's hangover.

Coach Kyle

April 16th, 2011 at 4:57 PM ^

LMAO xD What? Too funny =)

I thought about it and decided to look up the wind speed today - since that affects passing more than anything. 20mph... that might have been the problem.

M-Dog

April 16th, 2011 at 3:25 PM ^

the ongoing feud between the Hoke versus RR factions, and help unite the Wolverine fan base.

Dopey me.

All this game did was ignite an outright bloody war.  Each side can claim to see whatever it is they want to see from this Rosarch test of a game.  The culture wars will now continue unabated until we achieve 9-3 . . . or 3-9. 

Fun times ahead on MGoBlog. 

* Sigh *

 

 

trussll12

April 16th, 2011 at 3:34 PM ^

Actually, they will probably continue when Hoke plateaus around 9-3 a year.  A lot of fans didn't like the 3 losses per year with Lloyd-ball.  Bill Stewart, probably the best analog of Hoke, has gone 9-3 consistently as a manager relying on a very good DC, which seems to be our game plan.  But some of us will always want to see an offensive mind like Chip Kelly, Holgerson, or RR running the team.  Add in the fact that we have Denard Robinson on our team now, with almost every starter returning, and the team being coached to run RR/Magee's spread for the past couple years, and some of us will always wonder what could have been with this offense.

turd ferguson

April 16th, 2011 at 3:54 PM ^

Really, man?  Lloyd won a national championship, five Big Ten titles, and was a couple of plays away from another title game.  This kind of stuff sounds so whiny and entitled to me.  Realize that there are a bunch of fanbases (OSU, ND, Florida, USC, Oklahoma, FSU, Texas, Alabama...) that think they should be in national championship games every year, but it doesn't really work that way.

trussll12

April 16th, 2011 at 4:22 PM ^

Fans at the big programs all want to win the biggest games consistently, but there can only be a few programs at that level.  Add in disadvantages due to location and academic standards, and it will be difficult for Michigan to compete with the Alabama, Texas, Florida crowd consistently.  That's why some of us think that you really need exceptional coaching.  Look at the number of elite players that are committing to programs like Florida, Alabama, etc., versus our classes.  A straight-up, run over them MANBALL strategy may work against Michigan State, but the talent disparity between Michigan State and Alabama is significant (see bowl game). 

Finally, there is nothing wrong with going for a solid program that doesn't play on the BCS stage often.  Hoke and this staff may be put together a solid, respectable old school program.  Mattison is an elite coach.  But take a look at our offensive coaches.  Check our their resumes.  Even allowing for some room for disagreement over Borges, do you really think our offensive staff is elite?  That they provide an advantage along the lines that Chip Kelly's offense provides, or Holgerson's offense (a student of Leach) provides? 

I do think Hoke is completely likeable, and will be easy to root for.  I can see how RR rubbed certain people in Ann Arbor the wrong way.  But that doesn't mean I have evidence at this point, based on the body of work of Hoke and his staff for the past decade, to think that Michigan will be an elite program under his helm (like Florida under Meyer, Alabama under Saban, etc.).

WindyCityBlue

April 16th, 2011 at 6:00 PM ^

"there is nothing wrong with going for a solid program that doesn't play on the BCS stage often"

Are you sure?  So while it understandable that we will rarely be as good as OSU, we have now come to accept that being an Iowa or Wisconsin (programs that are solid with rare BCS appearances) is good for us.

If this is he general gestalt of Michigan fans, boy have we fallen.

M-Dog

April 16th, 2011 at 9:03 PM ^

as OSU" ?

News flash:  Throughout our history, we've been better than OSU.  There is NO REASON that we will not be as good as OSU.  We will not settle for being in the shadow of OSU, period.

trussll12

April 16th, 2011 at 4:25 PM ^

The point is, if we get back to regular 9-3 type seasons, there will still be some fans who think Michigan, with a different approach, could be doing better.  If you think that there will be complete harmony with 3 loss seasons, you are entitled to that opinion.

Chadillac Grillz

April 16th, 2011 at 6:16 PM ^

My friend /no s intended... RR didn't get it done here (fast enough) but I don't think thats the point truss is making. He is simply saying given more time with a spread type coach and our recruiting base... 3 wins turns to 5 then to 7 then to 9 and then maybe more wins on a regular basis, and suddenly you forget the past and are thankful for what you have...a coach like Chip Kelly who does insanely innovative/exciting things offensively & can use his system to even the playing field against the elite. If folks think RR had topped out at 7 wins their batty, Mattison however is doing much better things on D hence the frustration some have is that it's a catch 22 of waiting on something exciting that takes time and maybe has too many bumps and unknowns, or going with something that has been proven to work but may not be as exciting nor have the upside that a RR type might have once things are in place. Regardless of  anyone's opinion it is hard to win with the lack of experience and depth we've had the past few years.

Also, Michigan is an elite program if your definition of elite includes history, academics, having a top 15 recruiting base and a great campus. Unfortunately, tradtion alone doesn't cut it in this day and age. I'm not sure we are a truly elite program right now, nor am I sure we have been in a decade. Hopefully, we get back.

ND Sux

April 16th, 2011 at 10:43 PM ^

RR lovers forget the the HEAD COACH is responsible for the WHOLE TEAM, including the defense and special teams.  Last year was unbearable except for the offense, and even that didn't really perform well against top D's.  How the fuck can you still be dreaming starry-eyed about the glory days under RR? 

For all the bashing, I'd take Carr over RR every time.  I was hopeful and supportive of RR while he was here, defended his hire when other UM "fans" didn't like it.  In the end though, I don't see how you can even put him in the same sentence as Carr. 

For all the winning seasons, consecutive bowls, National title, Big Ten titles, program integrity, etc...Carr will never get a fair shake on this board from the RR jock sniffers.  RR will land a job somewhere next year.  Some of you should pack up and MOVE there with him. 

Michigan248

April 16th, 2011 at 3:25 PM ^

Defense looked decent thats all that matters offense with come around maybe the coaches are not showing everything yet, did anyone think of that relax this team will be fine.

True Blue Grit

April 16th, 2011 at 3:25 PM ^

I'm not overly concerned about the offense after today's game.  It will take a little time to learn the new system.  But, our D will be improved and help us win a few game we couldn't last year.  Because our November schedule is so brutal, I'm going with 8 wins as the most likely.  Still, 9 is possible. But, geez ... stop the hand-wringing everyone!

Soulfire21

April 16th, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^

The offense wasn't flashy, but it's not supposed to be.  Mattison and Hoke have both made it very clear that we are going to be a very defensive-minded team.  I enjoyed watching the defense making some great plays -- they were very aggressive in coverage

M-Wolverine

April 16th, 2011 at 4:30 PM ^

Make the thread better.
<br>
<br>The thread's been licked? No?
<br>
<br>At least the "I" and the "O" are near each other....actually, that looks kinda dirty too. I'll quit while I'm behind.