Late night thoughts on M Football

Submitted by United Football on September 25th, 2019 at 12:05 AM

while I sit here in my underwear eating jacks pizza perhaps a slither of hope to cling to. Could last weeks loss be similar to Penn States loss to Michigan in 2016?? Could the offense finally explode one week and catch fire?? Wishful thinking perhaps and not very likely but ya never know. On the other hand, traveling to Detroit for a Michigan bowl game would be a lot cheaper than going to California or Florida. I also forgot to mention I’m eating pizza and on my 3rd beer, writing this was a challenge. 

Wolverine91

September 25th, 2019 at 12:12 AM ^

Wishful thinking is an understatement. Offense is lost and confused. Players have no idea what they're running. Shea is hurt so even if he still is option number 1, he can't really do things as needed to develop this offense. If Dylan is option 1 if the coaches choose to do so, well he won't be available for a week or two or more due to his concussion. So yea you kind of need a healthy QB to make this offense "explode" and reach its potential...

Joined: 01/12/2014

MGoPoints: 10414

Wolverine91

September 25th, 2019 at 12:28 AM ^

Who's our mcsorely? Our Barkley? Our "experienced" play caller? Stop with this stupid comparison of 2016 psu. We literally have nothing in common with that team. It's nice to cling on to things but man, basically every team that gets blown out in a game should look to psu 2016 right?

Joined: 01/12/2014

MGoPoints: 10414

Reggie Dunlop

September 25th, 2019 at 1:02 AM ^

Our McSorely would be Patterson. Our Barkley is Charbonnet. Our playcaller is Gattis. 

Of course they're not the same, but none of those guys were who they are today when we kicked the shit out of them in 2016. (And believe it or not, we beat them way worse than Wisconsin just beat us).

I've stated repeatedly that I don't think we'll take off like PSU did, but after 4 games in 2016, none of those guys were who they are today. They BECAME those guys after that loss when they figured out their offense and went bonkers. Theoretically, we could do the same. There are 9 game results not yet written. Dismissing that because our guys aren't proven is stupid because at that point their's weren't either.

Joined: 10/24/2018

MGoPoints: 4389

bo_lives

September 25th, 2019 at 12:19 AM ^

I'm with you brother. I genuinely think Michigan will shock the world this time. 2016 PSU was also breaking in a new OC, Joe Moorehead. They lost to Pitt in their second game! Then got obliterated by Michigan. They nearly lost to Minnesota the following week. By mid season though, the offense was humming. It took some massive luck for them to beat OSU but shit happens. If you think Michigan will never have good luck against OSU again, you're a victim to the gambler's fallacy.

Don't quit drinking and go to bed. That's what Dave Brandon would want you to do. Stay up late into the night watching YouTube videos of Charles Woodson.

Joined: 04/10/2011

MGoPoints: 7867

UMForLife

September 25th, 2019 at 1:03 AM ^

There is history here with Harbaugh. Utah loss and we turned out to be pretty good.

ND loss and turned out to be pretty good except for OSU game. 

So there is a chance. A motivated Harbaugh is what we need. I actually think what Harbaugh needs is to lose a game somewhere before mid season to right the ship.

Yeah. Koolaid is strong in my statements.

Joined: 11/04/2013

MGoPoints: 63393

MichAtl85

September 25th, 2019 at 10:51 AM ^

I don’t think you’re necessarily drinking the koolaid. We looked absolutely awful at notre dame last year and we weren’t impressive until the Nebraska game. That team certainly improved throughout the year and unfortunately imploded against OSU game and by the time the bowl game around looked like the team had quit  

Hoping for the improvement we usually see. Worried about Iowa. They’re going to play sound. Welp nothing I can do as a fan but hope. 

Joined: 09/21/2019

MGoPoints: 12352

Maize and Blue AF

September 25th, 2019 at 12:22 AM ^

This comparison has been drawn a few times since the game Saturday, and there's some merit to it.  We will, undoubtedly improve as an offense as we get more game reps in.  Contrary to a few opinions I've read recently, I think we DO have the personnel to run Gattis's offense.  The offense just needs to get in sync (insert JT quip here).  Will it happen??  Who knows.  The biggest piece we're missing, compared to '16 PSU, is a Saquan Barkley type back that will force defenses to respect the run.  Establish just a competent run game, and the sky's the limit.  Problem is, we haven't seen that yet.  But hope springs eternal!  I'm not giving up on them yet, if only to avoid entering CFB purgatory 4 months early.

Joined: 12/20/2014

MGoPoints: 1667

Reggie Dunlop

September 25th, 2019 at 1:10 AM ^

Our offensive line is (allegedly, supposedly, rumored to be) much better than PSUs in 16. If they find their form, I think that would be just as valuable, if not more so. Penn State's was thought to be a liability. Young, inexperienced and the returners they did have were coming off a bad year.

Joined: 10/24/2018

MGoPoints: 4389

HailHail47

September 25th, 2019 at 12:24 AM ^

What concerns me is that we have usually looked very good at the beginning of the year under Harbaugh... and then we have faded late in the year. This has happened every year. Losses to OSU, Iowa, bowl games, etc.  If we fade even a little bit this year, we are in big trouble. In other words, I’m not convinced that we have hit rock bottom. Our schedule is heavily backloaded. We could really struggle with ND, MSU, and OSU. I hope we break the trend this year.

Joined: 10/07/2017

MGoPoints: 5305

Baronblue

September 25th, 2019 at 5:11 AM ^

The hallmark of a good football coach is a team that improves as the seasons rolls along. JH's teams have not done that.

I think he's too comfortable but he fits into the AA culture. I lived through the 60's (the Elliott years) and been a season ticket holder for 55 years. The hoop-la at the stadium doesn't match the team's performance. I can't figure it out. Maybe there's too many 2 minute and 20 second TV timeouts for the team to get in a winning groove. Maybe there's too much money in the air and not enough hunger on the part of the program. The fans are being exploited and so are the players as the latter don't get to experience earned excellence.

Joined: 10/22/2017

MGoPoints: 7

BlueMan80

September 25th, 2019 at 1:05 AM ^

Eat your pizza, drink your beer, and you’ll know everything about the future of this season by the end of the first quarter on Sat.  If no one fumbles on the opening drive for the offense, there might be hope in Mudville.

Joined: 01/21/2011

MGoPoints: 13097

andrewgr

September 25th, 2019 at 1:42 AM ^

When is thinking ever good, really?  Statistically speaking, people with high IQ's are more likely to be depressed than people with average or low IQs.  

The most happy sentient being I have ever encountered is my cat  She keeps her thoughts to a minimum and reserves them for really important things, like food, water, excretionary functions, and maximizing lap time.  She seems largely unconcerned with climate change, politics, my inability to retire due to my wife's health and our joke of a medical system, or the wins and losses of my favorite sports team.  On the rare occassion that she seems out of sorts, usually changing her litter box a day early and/or scratching her behind the ears is sufficient to return her to a state of blissful equinimity.

It has yet to be demonstrated that intelligence is a better survival trait than, say, just being really, really big with strong teath.  We've got tens of millions of years to go before we're evening in the running, and things aren't looking so great for us making it that far.

Hugs,

Andrew & Cleo

Joined: 11/15/2013

MGoPoints: 3059

bfeeavveerr

September 25th, 2019 at 8:22 AM ^

Take your fan glasses off. Watch the game. Does the team wearing the winged helmets look good to you ? Put that team in another uniform . How would you look at their future ? 

Joined: 08/01/2019

MGoPoints: 11248