Metellus wants to make a statement vs Wisconsin
“It’s more for us. We haven’t been playing the best football we can play, and we know that. We’ve got guys in this building whose potential is way up here [reaches hand to ceiling]. And we’re not reaching there. It’s a statement for us. We want to be able to come back in on Sunday and be able to say ‘This team is playing their best football right now. This team is reaching strides, this team is moving up, better than we were these past couple weeks. This team is really doing something that we’re capable of.’ It’s a statement to ourselves rather than anyone else.
[The first two games] were probably a win on paper. It wasn’t a win for us.
We didn’t play well on offense and we gave up points on defense. That’s not something I wanted to do, but when it happened, you just move on. We gotta move on, we gotta get better. We’ve got 12 games. We’ve only played 2. We’ve got 10 more to define this defense, define this offense, to define this special teams. To define Michigan.”
side note: support this team. stop being dickheads.
September 18th, 2019 at 4:41 AM ^
Well said. Now let’s translate these words into action this Sat. Go Blue!
September 18th, 2019 at 4:57 AM ^
Rooting for this guy. Go Blue! Saturday can't come fast enough!
September 18th, 2019 at 5:56 AM ^
So are they going to release like a schedule for these statements? I’m going to watch the game but if there is going to be some kind of special segment for these statements I would like to know so that I don’t fast forward through them.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:17 AM ^
Ok wise guy, so the schedule starts @ 12 and it goes til about 3:30 or so, there is no special segment so you probably dont want to miss any of it, get ya popcorn and enjoy, lol
September 18th, 2019 at 9:22 AM ^
Just saying. They could give times. Scheduling purposes.
September 18th, 2019 at 6:02 AM ^
Ahh so Metellus says we want to make a statement and it's all cool, but when Shea says the same thing he's garbage and should shut up and should get bitch slapped. Got it.
September 18th, 2019 at 6:21 AM ^
Yeah people on here bitched they wanted Shea to act like a leader. Then he tries to do that and they bitch again.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:20 AM ^
Dont worry, even if we beat Wisconsin some people will still be bitching about something, some people live just to be negative nancies, what can you do?
September 18th, 2019 at 10:53 AM ^
If we beat Wisconsin they were overrated and Michigan still hasn't proven anything. If Michigan loses then Harbaugh is a horrible coach and Michigan is overrated.
Michigan football games are an exercise in Schroedinger's uncertainty.
September 18th, 2019 at 9:54 AM ^
Like anyone Shea deserves respect but criticism when he screws up but my feeling is that after all the errors, criticism and injury, he's going to light it up at Wisconsin. He's back to 100% and the bye has to have helped him. In some way the past two weeks may be what motivates this team to play flawlessly and get the win at camp Randall.
September 18th, 2019 at 6:23 AM ^
Exactly! Shea has been way more valuable in his short career here. Metellus has been nothing but talk for 4 years and has dropped important interceptions, had blown coverages and bone head mistakes (penalties) his whole career. I don't want to hear shit from this guy, he should be worried about going out and proving he is a great Michigan Safety.
September 18th, 2019 at 6:38 AM ^
Metellus has been an excellent safety. Go find another team to support. We will be fine without you...
September 18th, 2019 at 6:57 AM ^
I do not believe he has been excellent. I’m not saying I’m not rooting for him, but the talk is pointless. I would never root for another team, but yes the team would be fine without me and without you as well.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:10 AM ^
At least Josh admits that the team had been playing like shit. Something 50% of the people on here can’t seem to realize.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:13 AM ^
Yeah, the board has been way too much sunshine and roses the past few weeks.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:21 AM ^
I like to call them negative nancies or debbie downers , or just trolls.
September 19th, 2019 at 12:29 AM ^
No one likes a Debbie Downer, Mmmmkay.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:23 AM ^
I haven't seen anyone on here unwilling to admit that the team has been playing shitty. That, however, does not mean the team is shitty, which it appears many in here believe.
September 18th, 2019 at 11:46 AM ^
Anyone who wants to argue that Michigan played like shit against MTSU because MTSU is SIX TIME BOWL ELIGIBLE most definitely won't admit that Michigan has sucked so far. There were plenty of those people floating around and now I find out that Army had a 10 WIN STREAK which apparently means that our squeaker against them is totally not because Michigan played like a poorly coached team.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:42 AM ^
There is a huge difference between realizing that the team has not played up to its potential and bitching about how horrible they’re gonna be the entire year because they had a tough game against a tough team. Negativity in which you are 100% concluding that this team sucks based on one game is not realism. That is called pessimism.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:12 AM ^
Also, he was asked a question about Shea's quote, and he responded in a very thoughtful manner. I don't know what you want Josh Metellus to do in that situation but I bet $1 if he had blown off that question you'd probably be sitting here saying that he isn't a leader or he's weak or some other crap.
September 18th, 2019 at 6:57 AM ^
Do you know anything about football?
September 18th, 2019 at 8:03 AM ^
Exactly! Shea has been way more valuable in his short career here. Metellus has been nothing but talk for 4 years and has dropped important interceptions, had blown coverages and bone head mistakes (penalties) his whole career. I don't want to hear shit from this guy, he should be worried about going out and proving he is a great Michigan Safety.
That's a nice narrative you've got going there. You unfairly criticize Metellus saying he's been "nothing but" mistakes and conveniently ignore the many good things he's done, including some very important interceptions. Yes, we all know that he dropped the INT against OSU in 2017. And yes, he was ejected for targeting against ND last year. It seems as though you hold Metellus personally responsible for those losses and you've decided to pin all your emotions and inability to deal with them on a 21 year old playing football for your entertainment.
Guess what, Eli? A lot of people probably don't want to hear shit from you, either...starting with basically everyone who read your post.
Josh Metellus doesn't need to worry about "proving" he is anything to people like you who just want to tear him down.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:57 AM ^
"you've decided to pin all your emotions and inability to deal with them on a 21 year old playing football for your entertainment."
You just summed up all of college football except you can change the 21 to 18.....18!!....and then you realize people lose their damn minds over this stuff. I'm not immune but I certainly am reconsidering why this (the actions of 18 year olds I don't personally know) means so much to me.
September 18th, 2019 at 10:01 AM ^
That's an issue I have with CFB, the players take the heat just like the NFL players do, except they don't get paid like pro's do.
A lot of negativity has seeped into the M fan base, and one one hand it's certainly understandable to a point. But a lot of these student-athletes are singled out for criticism, especially the QBs, but it's never one player that loses a game even though it's easy to think that.
If you want to blame someone, blame the coaches. They get paid very well to take the heat. It's just as easy to say the players weren't properly prepared for the game, and in some cases that's probably true.
September 18th, 2019 at 10:26 AM ^
Gruden? More like Gundy. Blame the coaches, they’re 40!
(I agree 100% with you, that’s just what your comment made me think of)
September 18th, 2019 at 1:55 PM ^
I do blame the coaches.....and (almost) never the players...but the point I'm making is that I allow the performance of 18 year old kids to bring my mood up or down way too much. It should not matter in the slightest to me whether we win or lose - I don't get a raise when we win or lose my job if we lose......right? Taking pride in the achievement of others that aren't personally tied to you seems like an odd thing to do.
And yet.....I've been a member on this board for 10+ years now! Crazy.
September 18th, 2019 at 3:24 PM ^
Totally agree... though blaming the coaches can go too far too. There seems to be a subsegment of the fan base that says "the coaches get paid a lot of money, therefore Michigan losing a fumble/missing a field goal/overthrowing a receiver is their fault." Blame the coaches for what's within their control, i.e., a lousy game plan, but not for what they can't control. And even the best coach in the country will occasionally get outschemed- opponents want to win too.
September 18th, 2019 at 9:22 AM ^
This is one of the dumbest football related posts I've ever seen here! Metellus is the one that filled in for Peppers against OSU as a true freshman, and he hasn't been challenged for the job since. Yet, here you are saying he sucks. Don Brown disagrees with you, and so does Mike Zordich (in charge of all secondary players). Metellus is moved to wherever the problem in the backfield is, and the problem disappears. Nobody throws at him! He's been one of the better safeties Michigan has had in the last 20 years. Yet he continues to be underappreciated, like all of the very good safeties Michigan has had over the years.
Yours was a stupid fucking post. You don't have to like him, but at least root your hate in something valid, rather than pure emotional bullshit. You should stop drinking now, angry drunks are the worst...
September 18th, 2019 at 6:46 AM ^
Both were more than fine for me. That's the type of attitude I want from the Leaders and (alternate) Captains of a 2-0 team who were just on a bye. Champing at the bit.
Timid fans have their right to be that way if that's their choice of approach. It's the one they'd choose no matter what the players said on a Tuesday. Sad when your own fans provide you with press clippings of doubt, though most will switch it up on Saturday.
That's really why it doesn't matter what anyone thinks besides the group currently in that building. Every matchup presents a new challenge and they think they're preparation has them ready for the new task.
They're just hoping to leave Madison as the victors over Isconsin, after they take the W, no matter how pretty.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:06 AM ^
+1 for "champing".
September 18th, 2019 at 7:51 AM ^
I haven't read any comments below. At the time you posted this comment, there was the OP and three comments. None of the comments or commenters indicated they were in favor of Metellus making the comment but not Shea.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:09 AM ^
He's talking about the thread about Shea wanting to make a statement. Not this thread.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:16 AM ^
But he posted in this one.
I think he was preemptively saying that people in the Shea thread were all BOOO SHEA but then those same people came into this one and said YAY JOSH!
Maybe that was going to happen, but it hadn't happened.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:46 AM ^
...did you read the shea thread?
September 18th, 2019 at 8:58 AM ^
Some of it.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:46 AM ^
This board is pure cancer this year.
And I blame Brian's BPONE attitude for about half of it. Y'all need to suck it up.
September 18th, 2019 at 9:49 AM ^
Brian brings only a fraction of the emo. Plenty of folks on this board just need to cowboy-up a bit. This thing of ours will be fine. And if it goes sideways, find joy and happiness in other aspects of your day-to-day.
September 18th, 2019 at 6:26 AM ^
I want to make a statement on Saturday vs. Wisconsin.
Tune in for my statement.
September 18th, 2019 at 6:33 AM ^
"support this team. stop being dickheads."
Couldn't agree more. Metellus' comments sound like he's somehow responding to the discontent of the fanbase. I get that there is a huge spectrum. Some fans want to point at 2-0 with wins despite suboptimal play and say we're fine. Others want to focus on every inadequacy that has been demonstrated and magnify it.
Everyone on here has feelings and feelings are never wrong. Cool. But as fans, we always want to feel like we have influence over what happens. Right now, our collective influence is deleterious, regardless of how small of an impact it may actually be. I get that this is a message board and, as such, is literally the best place to express your opinions about Michigan football. If your opinion is "we suck, this is an 8-4 team at best, Harbaugh is overpaid, bring back Lloyd Carr, bring back Taco Pants, etc" you don't have to post your opinions about it right now. I'll settle for an "I told you so" after the season if things go sideways.
Tl;dr - support this team. stop being dickheads.
September 18th, 2019 at 6:47 AM ^
Metellus' comments sound like he's somehow responding to the discontent of the fanbase. I get that there is a huge spectrum. Some fans want to point at 2-0 with wins despite suboptimal play and say we're fine. Others want to focus on every inadequacy that has been demonstrated and magnify it.
What in gawdforsaken hell are you snorting at this hour? It's amazing how the "perspective" folks are making appeals to reason when they're so far up the orifice of delusion. There's a quote from Metellus right in the OP:
[The first two games] were probably a win on paper. It wasn’t a win for us. We didn’t play well on offense and we gave up points on defense.
His words, not mine! This isn't a retort about fanbase discontent; he's not satisfied either! He wants to make a statement because he thinks the team is better than the one everyone's seen the first two games. He knows full well everyone witnessed a shitshow and wants to prove that it's an outlier. And that's fine.
Sounds like Metellus has his head screwed on straight, and the "stop being dickheads" folks need to come down from whatever the hell they're on.
September 18th, 2019 at 8:32 AM ^
Dragonchild, I'm not delusional. I've read and heard a lot of toxicity re: the assessment of our program. When relayed with borderline histrionics (not implying that's you), those perspectives are not without consequence. Coaches and players don't read this blog, but I'm sure recruits and their families do.
I'm not wringing my hands either way, people are going to behave however they want. I'm not sunshine and roses right now on the season, but of course, we're only two games in. Also, to be fair, "dickheads" can mean either side of the spectrum. Anyone saying that this team has looked like a Big Ten champion after two games and trying to squash any constructive criticism on the contrary are just as culpable as the other end of the spectrum. My point is that if criticism could either be constructive or deferred to a later date, that would probably be a net positive.
I love that Metellus and Patterson want to make a statement. Devin Bush made a statement all last year and the team followed his example.
Also, dude, you made 2 intonations that I'm on drugs. Chill.
September 18th, 2019 at 10:09 AM ^
I haven't seen anyone claiming this team looked good after the Army game. The most optimistic posts have been along the lines of "give them time" or "they'll bounce back."
The stuff that can accurately be described as "constructive criticism" (i.e., objective and specific play criticism) isn't being "squashed."
The problem is that 98% of the criticism in these last two weeks is the toxic, extreme, and personal variety. Nastiness. Forums like this seem to attract a lot of individuals who get some sort of therapy in dumping on their team. You hurt me so I'm going to hurt you back. The more this type of content grows unchecked, the more it transforms this place to MLive. In fairness, it probably crossed that line some time ago.
September 18th, 2019 at 2:08 PM ^
Right now, our collective influence is deleterious
I strongly disagree. If we were going "rah, rah, keep it up, you're doing great" after every mistake, that would be deleterious. Do you think the coaches are saying that to them? Do you think Nick Saban says that to his players?
September 18th, 2019 at 6:42 AM ^
I know all these guys want to “make a statement” this week but I’m starting to think about this defense in the same way I did about last year’s. They’ve all got the physical skills but they also have that required attitude. Go Blue!
September 18th, 2019 at 7:42 AM ^
If that's the case expect 70 to be hung on us in November if you're getting the same feeling about the defense. Brown will probaby have Gil covering their fastest player in single coverage.
September 18th, 2019 at 6:59 AM ^
I have no idea what Metellus' phone-call-looking celebration is, but it gets me hype af and I hope he picks off seven passes and returns five for touchdowns and laterals the other two off to Ambry Thomas who also returns them for touchdowns and the offense scores zero points and we win 49-0 and people still bitch about the offense WELL GUESS WHAT WE HAVE AN OFFENSE AND ITS NAME IS JOSH SPEED-IN-SPACE METELLUS
//takes deep breath
September 18th, 2019 at 10:26 AM ^
I'm not really sure what you have going on over there...but I like it.