Honest Question: So what, now?

Submitted by Mr. Yost on

As you all may hear me say quite often, "honest question." So what do we do now? Not the team...us, the MGoBloggers who eat/breath/sleep Michigan Football.

*Note I'm not suggesting in ANY way that any of us will stop watching, rooting or cheering for Michigan...*

I suppose, like myself, for many of you Michigan football ranks near the top of your list of "Things Most Important To Me." Obviously family, religion, and a few other things outrank Michigan athletics for many of us, but the fact is...it's still priority and probably our #1 or #2 favorite outlet from life.

So what are you all planning to do to cope with the rest of the season? I'm not suggesting you won't watch another game, or won't visit MGoBlog...but I'm sure like me, you're just a touch less interested and a hell of a lot less optimistic.

I suppose this is the "ideas thread." What are you plans for the rest of the season to fill that void of Michigan football? You can't speculate about the next coach for 10 weeks, or can you?

Now secretly, us suckers know that all is not lost and we're going to say we're to going to give it less attention - but we know we can still win this awful conference, so we're going to be watching and peeking through our hands currently covering our faces. Just hoping for a game, a half, a series...hell, a play that gives us hope for the next game/half/series/play.

We're going to be trying to make sense of things by saying "maybe this is the end of this curse...we started it with a horrible non-conference season in '07...and that season finished pretty good. Maybe we're finishing it now...and this season will turn out okay too!" We're going to do anything to make ourselves believe.

But in the end, it's very likely that it just is what it is...a 6-6 team that makes us all sick because we love this program so damn much.

So if it's that, what it certainly looks like, what are you all going to do to bridge you to basketball/hockey season? Again, honest question. I'll make a list and maybe we can save an MGoLife from weeks of boredom by giving him/her an MGoHobby.

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taistreetsmyhero

September 21st, 2014 at 9:54 AM ^

I hate myself every second I watch michigan football. But I'm addicted to the pain. That being said, hoke is lucky we're not in ancient japan because people have committed seppuku over less egregious failures.

Joined: 08/08/2012

MGoPoints: 39396

SteelBrad

September 21st, 2014 at 9:55 AM ^

I'm going to watch the games and root for my favorite team like always. I still think this team wins a few they probably shouldn't and lose more they should win. The defense is very good and if the offense finds a way to just stop shooting it's feet off, they can be a good team.

This team, unfortunately, reminds of the 2012 MSU team.


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SteelBrad

September 21st, 2014 at 10:08 AM ^

I know you weren't insinuating that. I just figured I'd clarify seeing as done of the others have already said they're basically done.

What has helped me cope the last 6 or 7 years is coming to the realization that these are still kids playing this game. Sure, I yell at fundamental mistakes but these aren't grown men making millions on Sundays.

That being said, I will agree they deserve better from a handful of the coaches. And the coaches alone should be the focus of our ire.


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MGoStu

September 21st, 2014 at 9:59 AM ^

I will still watch the games, but I have no optimism left so I will focus my attention elsewhere. Family has always been the first priority, but golf and fantasy football now will get me by until basketball season starts.

Joined: 08/04/2009

MGoPoints: 9689

massblue

September 21st, 2014 at 10:04 AM ^

over at AA news, sums it up well.  

----

Asked why his team continues to struggle with the basic fundamentals game in and game out, Hoke had little to say.

"The only thing I can tell you is that we've got to keep working at it," Hoke said.

It was a boilerplate answer that simply served as a placeholder for reality.

That reality? Michigan is a poorly coached football team. Its fundamentals are poor. Its technique is inconsistent. It doesn't make noticeable improvements from week-to-week.

Instead, it takes noticeable steps backward.

 
----
 
So there is no hope for this team getting better. But I feel really bad for the kids. We should support them 100%. No boos. No negative posts about players. It is all on the coaches.

Link

Joined: 08/15/2009

MGoPoints: 10357

reshp1

September 21st, 2014 at 10:54 AM ^

Let's be honest here, I, like I'm sure the majority of people, will still watch pretty much the same as always. We won't be as excited, we'll approach the game more cynically, we'll bitch more, but it's still going to be a big part of Saturdays for the remainder of the season.

Joined: 10/31/2011

MGoPoints: 34177

The Baughz

September 21st, 2014 at 10:02 AM ^

I'll tell you one thing... The days of me planning my Saturdays around Michigan football are over. I've missed out on too much only to be let down time after time. Im to the point now where I really don't care if I watch them play or not.


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aiglick

September 21st, 2014 at 10:03 AM ^

There's a book I'm reading called Boys in the Boat for my book club. I have to finish it by Thursday but I'll have a book a month for the foreseeable future. I actually think many people here would like this book because it involves sports. You learn interesting things too. Apparently competitive rowing was the bees knees in the early part of the 20th century. More so than college football. Millions of people listened to the regattas on the radio and 150,000 people would like up on the banks of the Hudson to watch the Poughkeepsie Regatta which was effectively the national championship. The book has a likable guy, Joe Rantz, as the protagonist and he is an oarsmen on the U of Washington rowing team. The coach Al Ulbrickson (sp?) is a character also. This is a true story and is also good if you like to learn about history (Depression era circa pre World War II).

Joined: 11/27/2010

MGoPoints: 21418

JTrain

September 21st, 2014 at 10:03 AM ^

Buy a battery backup for my iPhone and Bowhunt like there's no tomorrow. For some reason following the game while sitting in a treestand 20 feet off the ground in the middle of the woods is much less painful than devoting a whole afternoon in front of the TV. If it's a great game I watch it on the dvr. If it's terrible.....DELETE.


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Red is Blue

September 21st, 2014 at 10:04 AM ^

I plan on spending a lot of time, reading posts on topics like:

1) what do we do now,

2) who ought to be the qb,

3) next coach

4) DB hatred

I suspect this will keep me very busy.

Joined: 05/13/2010

MGoPoints: 23889

ontarioblue

September 21st, 2014 at 10:08 AM ^

His goal is to win Big 10 Championships. All is not lost. That is until our first conference road game where we get killed at Rutgers. Then we will talk about the rest of the year.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 16574

switch26

September 21st, 2014 at 10:11 AM ^

Well it is clear Borges was not the issue..  The rest of the position coaches are a complete trainwreck on offense..

 

The oline is still beyond horrific..  Especially with pass blocking.  Gardner seems to go with every play that is called and never looks at more than 1 WR..

 

He missed funchess wide open by 20+ yards for a TD in the first half and i just gave up after that..

 

The stadium wasn't even close to full and the attendance that it was 103k was total bs..

 

No one stands up on 3rd downs to cheer, everyone is just ho-hum at the games much like what Hoke has turned this program into..

Joined: 02/04/2010

MGoPoints: 8309

switch26

September 21st, 2014 at 10:11 AM ^

Well it is clear Borges was not the issue..  The rest of the position coaches are a complete trainwreck on offense..

 

The oline is still beyond horrific..  Especially with pass blocking.  Gardner seems to go with every play that is called and never looks at more than 1 WR..

 

He missed funchess wide open by 20+ yards for a TD in the first half and i just gave up after that..

 

The stadium wasn't even close to full and the attendance that it was 103k was total bs..

 

No one stands up on 3rd downs to cheer, everyone is just ho-hum at the games much like what Hoke has turned this program into..

Joined: 02/04/2010

MGoPoints: 8309

jackw8542

September 21st, 2014 at 11:00 AM ^

Nuss has already corrected - or at least moved a long way to correcting - the Borges problems.  Last year, when we lined up, I could tell what we were going to do and usually tell that the run was about to be stuffed.  The line play this year is MUCH better even without Schofield and Lewan.  The biggest remaining problem seems to be, and I am very sorry to say this because I do believe he is a terrific person, the QB.  Gardner just plain holds the ball too long and is unable to do more than lock onto his primary receiver.  He has gotten a bad case of happy feet, and even when his speed gets him free of pursuit long enough to make a reasoned decision, he just throws it at the first person he sees or runs it when it is still possible to find a receiver.

As someone else said, it doesn't take the opposition long to find out that we are not going to beat them with the pass, in which case (particularly if Funchess is not on the field), they focus all the more on stopping our running game.  This year, though, unlike last year, there still is at least a semblance of a running game.

Joined: 10/30/2010

MGoPoints: 4214

harperic

September 21st, 2014 at 1:08 PM ^

I think Nuss has actually done a great job in a short amount of time. The following has improved:

1. Play Calling. For the most part I am not seeing entirely boneheaded plays. Save a few weird rushing calls on 3rd and longs, I am not yelling WHY every time a play is called

2. OLine play. DG has a pocket more times than not. Green has holes to run through at least some of the time. This is a massive improvement from last year.

3. Rushing game. See #2, but Green has been consistant and has been a vast improvement from last year.

At this point it's clear that DG has some serious problems that aren't coachable. He has issues that only he can fix.

Joined: 08/17/2014

MGoPoints: 1616

dmac24

September 21st, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^

Hoke has passion for this program but has never had a fire about him. The team always plays hard but you never see anyone have passion. It's just, "Lack of execution." See Florida/Tebow after they lost that one year. Tebow got fired up to make it better and it worked. Haven't seen that kind of passion and energy here yet.

Joined: 07/25/2009

MGoPoints: 1080

BlueBadger

September 21st, 2014 at 10:17 AM ^

any more games with a bunch of Wisconsin fans. That was the worst, I don't need to be surrounded by people trying to conceal how happy they are that Michigan is losing.

Joined: 07/06/2011

MGoPoints: 1088

klctlc

September 21st, 2014 at 10:18 AM ^

1.Try and see if the offensive line can improve.  The team only loses glasgow in two years.  They are still average at best, their pass blocking has got to get better.

2. See if Morris has a chance to be good.  I am convinced, Gardner is a part of the problem.  He stares down receivers, has happy feet and can't diagnose blitzes.  How in the hell OSU happened last year, I do not understand.

3.Pray Drake Harris recovers next year and Canteen puts on 15 pounds.  We have no deep threat and too many possession receivers. I know Funchess is amazing, just not sure he is deep threat yet.

4. Keep my fingers crossed on every recruiting post for not too many guys bailing.  I will be shocked if we have a 5 star TE in a month or two.  Luckily it is small class and peppers is already here.

5. Keep coming to this blog. It is therapeutic. (SP?) I love the analysis from Magnus and other's.  Brian's humor and writing style is one of a kind and helps with the pain.

6.  Like a fucking idiot, plan my saturdays around the fucking game.

 

Joined: 09/02/2009

MGoPoints: 2704

Jevablue

September 21st, 2014 at 11:13 AM ^

The kids on this team deserve not to be written off.  And watching for development versus regression, almost from a clinical standpoint is probably the best perspective to take at this point.  It sure seems like Hoke, relative to his coachng peers, should have a lot more tools/talent overall to work with and be successful, yet less "endowed" coaches still beat him. What we are seeing now is regression, seemlingly all the way back to the point Rich Rod left off at.  So sure, lets look for development.  If this team improves from here, and makes a credible showing in conference, then Hoke probably survives.  If this tailspin continues steadily all the way into November, I would be fine with a mid-season "Kiffin" type move as well. And yes, I will faithfully watch and plan Saturdays around every f-ing game.

Joined: 11/05/2011

MGoPoints: 2978

Randy Marsh

September 21st, 2014 at 10:23 AM ^

I'm going to watch, but it has gotten to the point where nothing that happens will spark any emotion in me. I'll just sit and watch like

Then when the game is over I'll just be like

Joined: 08/28/2010

MGoPoints: 7388

victors2000

September 21st, 2014 at 10:28 AM ^

as our last coach desperately stated; I posted elsewhere - and will continue to post - that Shane can lead this offense to lasting improvement. It may be consistent 8-4 seasons but wouldn't that be wickedly appropriate for this fan base?

Joined: 03/21/2009

MGoPoints: 12777

His Dudeness

September 21st, 2014 at 10:29 AM ^

I may still head up for the PSU game but really not feeling it right now. Definitely won't go to Maryland and I was looking forward to that one. MSU and OSU are going to be a bloodbath but we already knew that two weeks ago. Go blue.

Joined: 11/24/2008

MGoPoints: -973290

alum96

September 21st, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^

I will of course watch UM games because thats what I do.  You and I Mr. Yost were very bullish on 2015 based on schedule.  That is now out the door.  I cannot imagine this version of UM going into Utah and not losing by less than 20.  BYU coming into UM is now terrifying.  The best schedule UM has in 20 years is now going to be wasted in 2015 due to a required transition.

This year is moot as all we have left other than OSU and MSU is a chance to beat up on a slew of bad Big 10 teams.  We had only a small window of opportunity to play X number of decent teams and we are 0-2 headed to 0-4 in those games.  Beating Northwestern and Minnesota means nothing at this point if you think UM should be anything more than a 8th place Big 10 team.

So I'll be:

a) cheering on these poor seniors who are going to have a rough year

b) watching individual players, especially underclassmen develop - will Henry continue his evolution as man beast?  Have we found an awesome corner in Lewis?  Do we have any safeties developing - Thomas looked "challenged" yesterday?  Who else can step up to help form the basis of a 2015 defense that will lose a great LB and 2 DEs.  Can Green get better?

c) preparing mentally for a beatdown in EL that will not only rival but supersede what we did to Bobby Williams and Drew Sharp's question to Hoke after that game about if he has lost the team.

d) monitoring if David Brandon will write a strongly penned letter to recruits and if the Chris Clark types will care.

e) watching games of coaches I would be interested in bringing to Michigan

Joined: 04/28/2012

MGoPoints: 82233

taistreetsmyhero

September 21st, 2014 at 10:32 AM ^

I've become more of an NFL fan now. I keep in touch with all of my old college roommates through our fantasy league, and I get brunch with my new med school friends on sundays to watch the lions play whenever I can. Michigan football definitely isn't the highlight of my weekend anymore, and I rarely look forward to a football saturday nowadays

Joined: 08/08/2012

MGoPoints: 39396

teldar

September 21st, 2014 at 10:32 AM ^

I've only watched one game this year. I've been busy. I've recorded them all so I could watch then later. But I've read the results first and haven't seen any reason to punish myself. I have this game recorded but I think I have a good handle on it. Gardner is throwing the ball away, hoke is screwing up special teams and has no intent to make a change to help the team, and Morrison is not ready. Did I miss anything?

Joined: 07/14/2009

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