October 11th, 2008 at 6:00 PM ^
October 11th, 2008 at 6:04 PM ^
October 11th, 2008 at 6:18 PM ^
October 11th, 2008 at 6:37 PM ^
I've been endlessly a 'glass half full' through this whole thing, perhaps until this afternoon. Still in shock (no pun intended) a solid three hours after the fact. Today all but confirms possibly the worst season in the history of the program-- certainly the worst in most of our collective lifetimes as Wolverine faithful.
I guess I just needed this-- Thanks Shock for giving me something to react to, and possibly process what happened today. I mean, we all KNOW this team will be so utterly badass in about two years we'll forget about how utterly, well, just bad this team is now. But ohhh, it hurts. And why?
Because we have PRIDE in this team. And it's all but impossible to be proud of the 2008 Michigan Wolverines. But they're still my team-- and I promise to every last one of you that in the name of GLENN BO SCHEMBECHLER I WILL WAKE UP TOMORROW MORNING AND PULL THAT MAIZE AND BLUE SHIRT UP AND OVER MY HEAD AND WEAR IT REGARDLESS OF TODAY'S INSANITY.
AND DAMMIT, I WILL FIND A WAY TO WEAR IT WITH PRIDE.
WEAR THE SHIRT, BOYS! WEAR THE BALLCAP!
Tonight, and tomorrow, more than EVER BEFORE, they need us to. Call yourself a UM fan??? Well it's time to put your money on your sleeve.
THOSE WHO STAY... well, you know.
October 11th, 2008 at 10:44 PM ^
October 11th, 2008 at 10:48 PM ^
October 11th, 2008 at 10:56 PM ^
Those who stay will be MAC Champions!!!! It does have a certain ring to it.
Now, only if we can beat MAC teams!
October 11th, 2008 at 10:59 PM ^
October 11th, 2008 at 11:16 PM ^
It's never OK to lose to MAC teams, even when you're a MAC team.
I still think RR is a great choice for HC at Michigan, but I've dropped from 95% sure to 65% sure.
Before Penn State joined the Big Ten, many "experts" thought they would dominate the conference due to their record the prior 20 years. PSU's prestige was equal or better to UM and OSU at the time.
But I had my doubts. PSU played an independant schedule and was able to space their big games out and have a number of DNP's (like Villanova, Temple, Rutgers, UVa - they really sucked back then, etc.) around their few big games (which were, ND, Pitt, Syracuse, on occasion Alabama).
When Penn State joined the Big Ten, there was less leeeway in scheduling, and there were tough road games to Wisconsin, Minn., MSU, not to mention OSU and UM. I always thought that the middle tier of the Big Ten would really bite PSU in the ass. They just weren't used to that kind of competition week in and week out (particularly on the road). Bo used to talk about that.
RR was very successful at WVU. But are there similarities here?
Additionally, all of our opponents will always be up to play and beat Michigan. Just ask Utah, ND, Miami (close) and Toledo. God, even Illinois considers UM their biggest rival! West Virginia, I am not so sure.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:29 PM ^
Once RR had West Virginia winning 10 games a year, I think it's safe to say that they were a big game for everyone. Games against top 10 teams = big games, even if played in the middle of nowhere.
And really . . . this is Michigan. You can have a bad team here, but it's pretty tough to flop long-term here, given the attractiveness of the program to recruits. Lloyd Carr was a nice guy who read lots of books and used SAT words in press conferences, but he was never considered to be much of a coaching mastermind, on either side of the ball. Still, he won 75% of his games. RR came here with far more of a coaching rep. He is starting off in hole (which is not really of his making) but by the time he's finished at UM, I bet he'll have matched or exceeded Lloyd's winning percentage.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:33 PM ^
App. State's victory over Michigan (who was 0-0 for the year at the time) was big because it was against the winningest team in the country, in the largest stadium in the country, and 3rd, against the#5 ranked team in the country.
WVU was winning 10 games a year for a few seasons; they were a Johnny-come-lately and always had to establish themselves during the season. They are not a target like Michigan. Oh, and once they did establish themselves, they played Pitt.
Michigan gets the effort the Pitt players and team put out every damn game, regardless of ranking or record.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:36 PM ^
October 11th, 2008 at 11:39 PM ^
October 11th, 2008 at 11:41 PM ^
October 11th, 2008 at 11:53 PM ^
tremdous up-side with RR. But, I will not ignore that there is a potential down-side as well (I know, duh).
I have always been impressed with coaches who make the most of the talent they have at hand and adapt to it. It would be silly to run the option with Joe Montana or Joe Nameth (although Bear may have done that, actually). This offense aint happening. I think it is counter-productive to run the spread-option with Threet. Just my opinion.
October 12th, 2008 at 12:00 AM ^
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=232227
It doesn't matter what offense they run. Threet completes 50% of his passes. He misses wide open receivers. How does this change if he's operating from under center in the I-Form?
October 12th, 2008 at 12:23 AM ^
and final word on an offense's effectiveness. It has been discussed widely here that having a lead blocking FB seems to add to the effectiveness in the running game. But this may be ephemeral its success due to it not being employed very often.
How does this change if he's operating from under center in the I-Form? Cannot a different system can lead to different results? Less responsibilities on the QB (ie, not concerned with running the ball; let the players good at that do it) allow him to focus on his strengths.October 11th, 2008 at 11:37 PM ^
Lloyd Carr... won 75% of his games. RR came here with far more of a coaching rep. He is starting off in hole (which is not really of his making) but by the time he's finished at UM, I bet he'll have matched or exceeded Lloyd's winning percentage.
Personally, I really like RR and I'm am all for that!!! [just tell me which games to bet on]
October 12th, 2008 at 11:05 AM ^
Blue Durham - I don't gamble. But you can hold me to this prediction: when RR is finished here, he will have matched or exceeded Carr's .752 winning percentage.
In response to your other comment, you have to keep in mind that we're not running a full option package with Threet. We run a few read plays (in which he rarely keeps the ball) and that's about it. We basically never run any conventional option plays or QB draws. This is not the offense RR used at West Virginia. He's considerably scaled down the QB running plays and is calling far more pass plays - last year, WVU never attempted more than 25 passes in any game.
As for whether he'd be better in the I, I'm not sure. Then he'd have to work on getting his timing down on his drops, which is tough for a lot of young QBs (Mallett could never seem to figure it out). When you use the shotgun, the QB is already five yards back so he doesn't have to worry about dropping back, and he gets a clearer view of any pass rushers. Note that Threet hasn't been sacked very often.
October 12th, 2008 at 1:10 PM ^
The problems that this team has are a lot deeper than certain play calls, Sheridan vs. Threet, and a few lost fumbles. The seeds of this season were sown both by the recruiting by Carr combined with RR's implemented changes in philosophy. This team is not going to run off any kind of win streak this year.
I am sure that I am in the minority here, but this loss is more disturbing than the App. State loss last year. Last year's loss was an upset, an aberation of sorts, and that was demonstrated by the 8-game win streak and the win over Florida.
However, yesterday Michigan didn't get upset by Toledo, Michigan IS Toledo. And now it seems many posters are of the view that Michigan will be Toledo next year as well. Thats the disturbing thing.
Michigan has had freshman QB's before, had very young OLs before, and has installed new offenses before. But never all at the same time. Unprecedented situation, and we have gotten unprecedented results.