Herbstreit on Michigan's UConn win
Herbie last night said "Michigan today I think sent a pretty loud message to a lot of people including myself with the athletic ability on the defensive side of the ball stood out [sic]. I know everyone wants to talk about Denard Robinson. I love to see that Michigan defense flying around and making plays."
Good to see Herbstreit admitted that he was wrong to pick UConn (not that he had much choice!). Despite everything I think he's one of the better ESPN analysts and generally pretty objective.
September 5th, 2010 at 10:38 AM ^
we played pretty well against the run especially given their experience on offense. uconn bailed us out by dropping a lot of passes. nd will be a good test.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:01 AM ^
I kept thinking that maybe the facilities people replaced the soap in UConn's locker room with Crisco. Those receivers couldn't hold onto anything.
September 5th, 2010 at 4:23 PM ^
I thought Frazer was partly responsible for that. I wasn't impressed with his accuracy.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:02 AM ^
After all, 30 points for our offense is probably to be expected based on last year's average of 25+ PPG against non-Delaware St teams. And it is also probably true that our defense is more athletic this year and is playing faster. But I agree, UConn made a lot of mistakes. ND's receivers are much better.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:02 PM ^
UConn made some bad mistakes. But yes, what I saw from the defense was obviously better than I expected. I think they caused 4 different 3 and outs. After the last two seasons, I had forgotten what a 3 and out looked like. We also had 3 chances at interceptions but couldn't pull them out.
I wasn't happy at how wide open some of UConn's receivers looked in the first half. Lucky for us, their QB kept overthrowing them.
It also didn't hurt that our offense was on the field so much that the defense didn't have to play all that much. The opening drive in the 3rd quarter took up, what, 8 minutes? I love to see that.
September 5th, 2010 at 2:52 PM ^
...some forget he was pretty constantly harassed by one Mike Martin, Craig Roh, RVB et al.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:45 PM ^
3rd & 25 conversions
September 5th, 2010 at 1:01 PM ^
Good against the run??? We did allow 4.6 yards per carry, but we had 4.7 :D
I'm not sure why UConn didn't just run with Todman the entire day as he averaged over a 5 yards a pop
September 5th, 2010 at 2:53 PM ^
and the clock...when you're down at least two scores for most all of the game.
September 5th, 2010 at 10:42 AM ^
This literally might be the first positive thread about Herbie that I've seen on this board.
September 5th, 2010 at 10:46 AM ^
just happy he admitted he was wrong. lmao
September 5th, 2010 at 10:52 AM ^
off of last couple year's D (which was all of us) had to have serious questions about Michigan's ability to stop people. That Herbie liked Uconn's chances in this game IMO was simply an analyst (who know a shit ton more about football than 99.99% of the internets) calling it like he saw it ... Desmond Howard raised questions about the D, saying he just didn't know because he hadn't seen them in a live game, and yet somehow we get all these Herbie's a hater threads, he can't be objective. Nonsense. KH is pretty good as far as analysts go.
Jury's still out on the D, but it's a positive sign that they made some plays yesterday.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:05 AM ^
He's usually been capable of separating what he wants to happen from what he thinks will happen, and doesn't appear to wear his homer glasses when he gives his opinions. I personally would much rather listen to him than a lot of his peers.
He apparently does play to his audience when he goes on Columbus radio, but I don't have to suffer through that.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:07 AM ^
A lot of analysts watch the game (or parts of the game) and then give their opinion without thinking about it, which exposes their biases. Herbstreit seems to actually think about things before talking. Where did he learn to do that? Not at Ohio State.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:50 AM ^
But I have a feeling that he plays to his national audience more than to his Columbus audience. I think he has faced a lot of national scrutiny and has come out on top. But I feel that if you ever sat down with him over a beer, as two regular guys, he would trend a lot more towards OSU homer than national voice of reason; and I don't fault him at all for that.
I think he is a smart guy and knows that the pathetic homer schtick flys for Holtz but very few other people could get away with it at the national level. He knows what is good for his career and sticks with his game plan. I feel the same way about Erin Andrews sometimes. She has used her looks to get the opportunities that she has, but has worked hard to bring a legitimate contribution when the camera turns on. Both are pretty savvy that way, and I can respect them for it.
September 5th, 2010 at 12:39 PM ^
You must not be paying attention. Not to sound like a dick, but though he's mocked for the Les Miles fiasco, he's pretty well regarded for his commentary.
September 5th, 2010 at 12:54 PM ^
Not as an excuse, but I'm sure his producers were pushing him to run with the story during the LMF.
September 5th, 2010 at 4:06 PM ^
I'm sure.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:07 PM ^
This literally might be the first positive thread about Herbie that I've seen on this board.
You must read pretty selectively, because quite a few of us think he's a perfectly fine analyst.
September 5th, 2010 at 10:52 AM ^
...most CFB analysts held to the CW that the offense would be good but the defense was very suspect. I imagine much of the CFB is looking at Michigan very differently this morning.
September 5th, 2010 at 10:54 AM ^
He has two verbs in that sentence without a connecting or subordinating conjunction. The core of the sentence is "Michigan today I think sent a pretty loud message...with the athletic ability on the defensive side of the ball." Adding stood out at the end is a mistake. He should have said, "Michigan sent a loud message. Their athletic ability on defense stood out." (Or something along those lines).
Edit: sorry, I was responding to a comment that now isn't appearing for me. Someone asked why I added the [sic].
September 5th, 2010 at 11:01 AM ^
I don't think the defense made a statement at all. I would characterize the play as improved, mostly due to the forced turnover and the stop by Ezeh on 4th down. But UCONN receivers were wide open all day, dropped multiple passes that would have been first downs, and there was little pressure upfront most of the game (Roh did have several close pressures). Anyone taking away from this game that the defense is still not suspect is mistaken in my view. Right now the CW is about right.
September 5th, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^
What game were you watching? I was watching a game where UConn had many many missed chances due to a bad qb or worse receivers. The run defense looks good, as well as mouton and the passruch; however, an accurate qb will tear us up.
Lets be reasonable with our defense.
Run defense and push rush solid, not spectacular
Pass defence is bad and is why we ran zone all day
September 5th, 2010 at 2:54 PM ^
...with reactions of both shock and awe
September 5th, 2010 at 10:49 AM ^
He is a good analyst despite his Buckeye roots. He respects Michigan and our tradition. Glad to hear him comment on the game.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:59 AM ^
agreed, he's one of the few analysts that still wants to talk about Michigan and he does advocate for us often.
September 5th, 2010 at 10:56 AM ^
I have the most raging clue right now
September 5th, 2010 at 11:02 AM ^
Which way is your clue pointing?
September 5th, 2010 at 11:11 AM ^
It's pointing towards a victory in South Bend next week
September 5th, 2010 at 2:42 PM ^
southpark+victory over ND=Brilliant +1
September 5th, 2010 at 11:03 AM ^
to the extent possible. As for being one of the best analysts, perhaps though not saying a whole lot.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:10 AM ^
The defense did look really fast. I was a little worried about how soft the zone was: we seemed content to concede a 12-yard pass on every play (luckily Frazer and company made enough mistakes to not burn us on that). However, the whole defense was quick and there seemed to be four guys around every tackle. I don't know how this will work going forward; I fear a lot of long, drawn-out drives by our opponents. It helps having some big hitters being the first ones to the ball in the zone, though. And of course, the pass rush helps, too.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:16 AM ^
herbie has always had my respect. despite his les miles gaffe, he has always been fair, respectful, and honest about michigan. one of my favorite buckeyes (probably the only buckeye i don't hate).
September 5th, 2010 at 12:03 PM ^
I don't "hate" Spielman, either. He caused a lot of dismay in The Game, but he was a warrior and one who would have fit in the maize and blue quite nicely. Count in his time with the Lions and the things he did to support his late wife during her battle, including sacrificing some of his career, and Spielman goes into the human being hall of fame AFAIC.
September 5th, 2010 at 2:03 PM ^
i always loved spielman, especially after he said he wanted to go to michigan, but his dad made him be a buckeye.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:16 AM ^
Good analyst. I won't deny it. He does an amazing job seperating his partisan feelings.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:49 AM ^
Herbie and Speilman are 2 of the best in the business...Its just unfortunate they went to O$U
September 5th, 2010 at 11:50 AM ^
"with the athletic ability on the defensive side of the ball stood out [sic]. I know everyone wants to talk about Denard Robinson. I love to see that Michigan defense flying around and making plays.""
I'm still very concerned about the D...once UConn quit throwing and pounded with the running game, they were doing decently. They could have stuck with it had Michigan not been scoring so much, and we have to expect the offense will stall at points this year. A couple key dropped passes and a forced fumble slammed the door on them (then again they got a break with that juggle pass).
I hate to be a Borg/downer but we know the depth and youth situation on the defense. I have a hard time believing it ISN'T going to be a major liability in more than one game. Last year the D looked awesome in the WMU game, another opener against a team that was supposed to be pretty good. It turned out Western took a nosedive, we can only wait to see if UConn does the same.
September 5th, 2010 at 2:09 PM ^
I agree with the nerves regarding the defense, and I know it's only one game, but I thought they looked to have taken a step up from last year.
Other then the juggle pass (which can be blame on Gordon's hesitancy once he saw the ball in the air) we didn't give up any long plays. Last year even WMU hit our secondary for some big plays, and I thought out linebackers looked very improved from a year ago.
I still think this defense is going to leak yardage and points, but hopefully they make teams work for it and they aren't giving up free touchdowns like in last years Penn State game.
September 5th, 2010 at 12:23 PM ^
The bobbled catch big play for UConn showed the D's tentative reaction leading to a wrong angle that still needs to be worked out, Cam Gordon had the perfect opportunity to do what he does best to break up that play. He should have absolutely decapped that receiver at the shoulders while he was juggling it.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:39 PM ^
And most people here think he's too unbiased. Some even claim he is biased against OSU just to hide his true colors. I think he's a solid analyst. Well, at least as solid as one can be with getting their degree from OSU. Week in and week out he gives a solid view. Definitely better than most pundits.
September 5th, 2010 at 9:22 PM ^
Just what the hell happened to Pacchia and Cafe Boulevard in the Oregon District? I went to Dayton a couple of weeks ago, and was stunned to find Cafe Boulevard had turned into a pathetic excuse for a German restaurant, (with pretty horrid food).
At least Thai 9 is still there, as is the Dublin Pub. But, Pacchia used to be one of my favorite places. I'm sad.