Harbaugh Keeps it Real, Says appreciates losing tight games

Submitted by olm_go_blue on

“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.”

 

Muttley

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.

SMFH58

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.

CRISPed in the DIAG

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.

 

The Fan in Fargo

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.

SpikeFan2016

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. 

tf

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

RoseInBlue

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.

LSAClassOf2000

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. 

uminks

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.

ArmenHammer

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.

AA Forever

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.

 

AA Forever

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?

Sten Carlson

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.

Sten Carlson

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.

Carcajou

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.

Carcajou

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?