irrational rationale
I had a conversation about the way the 2011 big ten season would shake out with a sparty fan today. I proffered that next years wolverine squad would win at least 9 games. He replied that he would be surprised if they won seven. I gave the reasons that it would be 9 wins as improved offense from all the skill positions which will be returning. with minimal losses in the o line with improved play from the defense ( come on seriously, dilithium 1.5 is good for at least 9, hes been good for 7 so far) at which point he laughed and said that we no one good on defense. he offered the reason that Michigan would not better is because the schedule gets harder. the addition of Nebraska does give his argument some merit. the real kicker was that he claimed the Irish would be a top ten Team next year ????? Of course after my shock i asked him why he figured that. He answered with a familiar tag line. Their quarterback will be better, they have offense returning, they were crippled by injuries, and their defense was young, but should get better. Of course i did not continue the conversation because it is quite easy to see that the logic was one-sided. the irish were bad because of the aforementioned reasons, but should be better for next year. Yet somehow, the wolverine team of 2010 that has all of these same things in common will not be better? the overall idea is that the young inexperienced defense is a reason to cripple your team, yet give some sense of relief because you realize that that defense will grow up and become the team they are meant to be. Alot of opinions on here have been negative towards some of the players, i believe they have tremendous upside. Especially Cam ( don't let the tight end get behind you) Gordon. T hat guy is a ball player. For someone that was a wide out 7 months ago i think hes doin a helluva job on defense.And while im on my soap box F@#k Harbaugh, RRod is my coach and he better be the coach next year. Neg me if you want, i didnt proof read or check the grammar, and i dont want 3 yards and a cloud of dust. I love Bo, but i like spreadriguez even more.
on a side note, i don't care about all the grammar nazification. this is a sports blog, no one is angling for a research grant here. If you don't like my writing style ( or lack thereof ) Don't read my post.
November 22nd, 2010 at 8:07 AM ^
First of al I have to disagree that DB going for broke is even an option at this point. The offensive staff will remain intact next year so there is no reason to expect that we won't be better on offense.
Secondly, the only way the defense doesn't improve is IF gerg stays. I have been on the Gerg bandwagon since he arrived but it was based more on wishful thinking than confidence. After the the game Saturday it become painfully clear that he simply can't develop players.
He had some decent years in the pro's and a good year at Texas but those were players who had already been developed. It seems from all the evidence that he is good at schemes and not so good developing the players.
If I look back on this year I can point to a handful of instances where the defense looked as if it were making strides only to fall back the next week. What this leads me to believe is that when we see the defense show sparks of improvement it is inspite of the coaches and not because of them. Otherwise the trajectory would be somewhat consistent and the improvement somewhat steady.
This defense has been plain bad at the simple fundamentals of football, and to not see improvement in that area over the course of a season is insane. We have more than enough skill on defense to have expected to see significant improvement over the course of this season, and we haven't.
As for the new coordinator setting them back because of the potential for a new scheme, that meme has been given the boot in the ass it desves many times over the past few weeks. Teams get new DC's all the time and it isn't rare that those new DC's actually cause the defense to improve. Look at Illinois this year. That is one of many examples.
At this point, the only way I see this defense not making significant strides next year is if Gerg remains. Sorry buddy, I love your hair and was pulling for you....but enough is enough,
November 22nd, 2010 at 8:50 AM ^
So if the OFFENSE is inconsistent, and Denard tosses a couple passes into the arms of opposing DB's or defensive linemen, it is because of...youth? Inexperience? Lack of time with the scheme?
But if the DEFENSE is inconsistent, youth and inexperience do not apply? AND, what about those nasty injuries? Not an excuse for Greg Robinson?
Just checking on the parameters for whether a coach gets the benefit of the doubt. I mean, you could make the argument the offense has improved, but that improvement is mostly in the form of Denard Robinson (and him not getting injured). And I contend there really hasn't been improvement over the course of the season--expecially the Big Ten season. I know, 60 Million garbage yards and points...
Now let me also ask: What about special teams? Regression there, to be sure. Who we gonna blame that on?
Two of the three phases of the team are horrific, and the third is inconsistent, and rendered largely ineffective by the better teams on the schedule (the teams we should measure ourselves against)--yet you seem to think Rodriguez is still golden?
