Harbaugh Keeps it Real, Says appreciates losing tight games
“This past season, as close to being perfect as any team I’ve been on without being perfect,” Harbaugh said. “We lost two games by one point, and a third game in overtime by three points. Good. Glad we lost them, and maybe that’ll make us better."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/jim-harbaugh-on-michigan%E2%80%9…
I came across this, appreciated his sentiment and how he doesn't apologize or make excuses.
Not too much else noteworthy in the article, so I'll end with the positive part.
“It’s been competitive around here,” Harbaugh said. “Our young players are responding and focused on making the team better. That makes me very excited.”
February 25th, 2017 at 11:45 AM ^
In no universe does Harbaugh actually like losing. I do appreciate him finding a silver lining, though.
February 25th, 2017 at 12:14 PM ^
I think he appreciates the lessons learned but losing is last thing he would ever want.
February 25th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^
I have it on good authority that bizarro world Harbaugh actually loves losing.
February 25th, 2017 at 6:55 PM ^
courtroom Tom Brady on Halloween?
February 25th, 2017 at 1:10 PM ^
"Try to get a little better today than yesterday, a little better tomorrow than today." Maybe this is his way of deflecting the questioning so he can get back to what is in his power to change.
Although I wouldn't be too surprised if he's holding back his superpowers to change past outcomes because of some reason unknown to mankind.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:48 AM ^
All I ask from all of my rooting interests is that the team be competitive. There is no shame in playing well and losing. This is a lesson many could learn.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:49 AM ^
It made for a good quote for Twitter people a day or two ago when they took the "Glad we lost them" comment and ran.
February 25th, 2017 at 12:09 PM ^
It's kawakami's show so don't shoot the messenger.
February 25th, 2017 at 3:43 PM ^
Kawakami is actually a Harbaugh fan; probably the only on in the Bay Area media.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:53 AM ^
Iowa was a weird game. It happens.
Florida State required us to make last minute changes due to injuries and we damn near won. Again, it happens.
Ohio State? I went full-circle: In the first week or two, I felt we got screwed. Then I rationalized about our blown chances and Speight's health. Now I'm back to feeling like we got screwed.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:59 AM ^
We we're screwed. By Dirty Bob and the Boyz.
February 25th, 2017 at 12:27 PM ^
We were screwed. We also should have played way better. As Clemson showed, Ohio State wasn't very good last year and they still beat us. Sigh.
February 25th, 2017 at 12:56 PM ^
Yeah but had the team not repeatedly been screwed and had the game handed to the bucks over and over to be let back in, it would've easily been a 2 touchdown win. Did the team fold under that pressure? Yep, but there was nothing they could have done. The refs were going to do whatever they had to that day to make it a game for the cheaters to win. I say the next time refs pull that shit, the players make their statement on the field. Make it look like an accident because aftre all it would be and let them cheaters know it isn't going to fly. That's just eye for eye and you cant call penalties on someone for accidental contact in the flow of the game. Nor can anyone prove that a player might be reading this and one day use it on his own dime never telling a soul about his intent. Just the flow of the game baby.
February 25th, 2017 at 1:56 PM ^
It doesn't really work that way. You could argue that NC State showed that Clemson obviously wasn't very good
February 25th, 2017 at 2:25 PM ^
1) They lost 31-0 with a month to prepare.
2) There is no doubt the 2016 iteration of Ohio State football was the worst since 2013, and they project to be better in both 2017 and 2018 than they were this year given their age and incoming classes. That means we just played the worst OSU team in a 5 year span, and lost. It's only going to get harder from here.
February 25th, 2017 at 2:56 PM ^
That seems unlikely. The same QB that can't complete passes down field against good defenses is coming back and Urbz has yet to develop an actual QB. Going forward, I don't think teams are going to beat Michigan running the QB 30 times at 4 yards a pop.
February 25th, 2017 at 3:52 PM ^
Urban's third string quarterback won him a national championship. So, not sure what you're talking about. And, OSU just signed a record number of 5 stars, even more than the classes that brought them the NC.
February 25th, 2017 at 4:02 PM ^
The fact that you can only point to one guy that got hot for a couple games before getting benched the very next season sort of proves my point.
February 25th, 2017 at 12:15 PM ^
Get some neutral site or Ann Arbor officiating and we win by 14. We damn near won by something like that margin in Columbus if not for that unfortunate Mason Cole facemask late in the 3rd on that 50ish yd screen
February 25th, 2017 at 12:05 PM ^
Not that it matters, but I think he's wrong. The 1985 team he QBed was 10-1-1, losing by 2 on a last second field goal on the road at the #1 team in the country and, obviously, also tied a game. That seems closer to being perfect than last season. I suppose you could argue the margin of defeat in two one point losses is the same as a single two point loss, and an OT loss would have been a tie under the old rules, so maybe the two seasons were equally close to perfect.
tf
February 25th, 2017 at 12:28 PM ^
Honestly, we were 3 1st downs from a perfect season (caveat that had we won those games, we'd have played more games which we might have lost). In all 3 games we lost, we had the ball and the lead with a minute and a half or less left on the clock. All we needed was 1 first down and we could have kneeled it out for the win. That's what sucked the most about those losses. We could have won all 3 games.
February 25th, 2017 at 12:31 PM ^
That's not true of the Florida State game.
As soon as we took our lead we gave up a 70 yard kickoff return and then an easy touchdown. All three phases of the ball failed in the final minutes between the three losses. That's why it hurts so much.
February 25th, 2017 at 1:16 PM ^
This is the correct sentiment. Great year but could have been really special with better execution down the stretch. Hoping we get a few more tries at special in the coming seasons.
February 25th, 2017 at 12:22 PM ^
I think I gleaned the same thing out of this as others did then - Harbaugh really does appreciate the lessons learned from competition and the losses that it will occasionally bring, but the man hates losing itself with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind, I am sure. He is one of those few coaches that seems to honestly learn from every single little in-game decision and soak in the totality of his environment too.
February 25th, 2017 at 12:35 PM ^
Coachin
February 25th, 2017 at 12:38 PM ^
Harbaugh would have went undefeated. I hope the younger players can step up this season and be competitive for the B1G title. We just need to beat OSU at home this season.
February 25th, 2017 at 1:18 PM ^
Except for the OSU game, we weren't playing against Ohio State, we were playing against the refs...
(I don't disagree with your OL statement btw, just pointing out my everlasting frustration with that game. It rivals the 2005 bowl game in my mind).
February 25th, 2017 at 2:22 PM ^
Tell me, though, do you actually feel that we 'lost' that game? Looking at the spot, Barrett was short, and we proved to be a better team. No excuse for offensive inefficiency in the 4th like we did all throughout the year, but the team did enough to win... except for the incorrect call at the end... and the missed block in the back that kept Jourdan from tackling Samuel at the l.o.s... and the inconsistency in PI calling as with the 3rd down from the possession before... and so on. I agree with Harbaugh here, but I'm bitter.
February 25th, 2017 at 12:47 PM ^
I'm bitter about those losses but I can hold grudges...JH has to keep the train moving forward and his is the right attitude
February 25th, 2017 at 1:26 PM ^
losing is the new winning!
February 25th, 2017 at 2:01 PM ^
Winning is just a statistic ...
February 25th, 2017 at 2:07 PM ^
we now have Adamantium in our spines.
February 25th, 2017 at 2:15 PM ^
I mean I'm not happy at all about losing to OSU or to fucking Kirk Ferentz and his 1940s brand of football, but I see the point Harbaugh is trying to make.
February 25th, 2017 at 3:14 PM ^
Unless we actually make progress and start turning losses into wins this year, the fact that they were close is meaningless. Elite teams win the close games with no excuses.
February 25th, 2017 at 3:56 PM ^
realistically we will not be an elite team until the talent depth improves after about 2 more recruiting classes. Given Harbaugh's great coaching skills we may be able to beat those teams with more seasoned talent with our young talent.
February 25th, 2017 at 4:45 PM ^
with probably something less than 10-3 this year does not seem much like progress. Elite coaches do not take 4-5 years to win championships or make the playoff.
As far as Harbaugh's coaching skills, he has yet to win a single game against a team that was supposed to beat us, and he has lost or nearly lost a lot of games against teams that he should have beated easily. I'm still waiting for those games to start happening. Will it be this year?
February 25th, 2017 at 7:42 PM ^
You're insufferable ... always spouting off about accountability, and elite teams and coaches -- all of which you know fuck all about (as the Brits would say). Michigan came out of an historic low, hire a friendly uncle who couldn't develop talent and who squandered two of the most talented players in Michigan history in Denard and Devin. The team of poorly developed players have had the first back to back 10 win seasons since 2003-2004 ... that, by definition, is progress. Nobody holds himself nor his players more accountable than Harbaugh, yet you act as if he's supposed to dismiss himself after every loss because you think he was "out-coached." His job is to put his players into the best possible position to win, and he's done that in almost every contest he's coached at Michigan. It not his fault that there were/are glaring holes in the depth/roster.
Coach talks about not comparing, and I think you should take his advice. Every program and circumstance is different. But if you cannot see the difference in Michigan under Harbaugh and Michigan under Hoke, RR, and even Carr, you're clueless, IMO.
February 25th, 2017 at 8:29 PM ^
You should probably avoid using such advanced vocabulary when responding to OSU slappies. They are otnay ootay ightbray.
February 25th, 2017 at 7:30 PM ^
when elite teams lose it is usually close games like last year... thats why they are elite they are in every game they play.
February 25th, 2017 at 8:06 PM ^
^^^ what this guy said!!!
AA Forever, you couldn't be more wrong. Every team, no matter how elite, loses games. The one thing that elite teams almost never do is get blown out. If every loss Michigan ever has is like the losses this season -- needing only a 1st down/stop to win/OT, I'll take it. Elite teams are in every game they play, they don't beat themselves, and they play until the clock reads 0:00 Coach is right in that these kinds of losses are very important learning/building blocks in championship teams.
February 25th, 2017 at 7:03 PM ^
Nothing focuses your attention and makes you appreciate what you have to do to get better than losing a close game. I'm pretty sure that's what he means.
February 25th, 2017 at 7:24 PM ^
The way he talks about loving this opportunity for his kids to grow up in the environment they are in now, doesn't it seem like Harbaugh hopes and plans to be coaching in Ann Arbor for a long time?