Michigan Monday is up
October 31st, 2017 at 11:44 AM ^
October 31st, 2017 at 12:11 PM ^
He's being charitable to us, which he often does. He knows that more Michigan people probably read this piece than OSU people.
I did wonder when they were down 18 to PSU how pissy "Michigan Monday" would be when it came out. He'd want to vent at anything and everything after that loss.
Unfortunately . . . JT Barrett hit his last 16 freaking passes in a row and it became a moot point.
October 31st, 2017 at 8:46 PM ^
like PSU's did in the fourth quarter -- that was embarassing.
October 31st, 2017 at 11:50 AM ^
"Practice is nice, but games are Miracle-Gro for players."
I think coaches tend to forget this fact when deciding if the time is "right" for a player to actually play.
October 31st, 2017 at 12:11 PM ^
You are so right.
I think JH's plan was always to get by PSU without playing him for meaningful time, and in hindsight, that stubborness could have cost us MSU once Speight went down.
Hindsight is indeed 20/20, but I would have had BP in there from the very start. Maybe not starting, but for sure playing when it counted.
October 31st, 2017 at 1:55 PM ^
I don't think Harbaugh likes switching QBs. I suspect he was conservative about starting Peters because, when he finally did, he wanted it to stick, to avoid a QB carousel.
And to be honest, "Peters didn't grasp the offense yet" is still a totally plausible and likely explanation. Against Rutgers, Harbaugh was frequently pulling Peters aside, the playbook was presumably pared down, and Peters still blew a couple plays. When O'Korn made it clear he was going to keep blowing at least as many plays, not by not knowing them but by not executing them, that was probably the final tipping point that made the downside to Peters moot.
Peters is a guy in a rapid improvement phase, and I don't think it makes sense to assume that Rutgers Peters was available for Purdue or MSU.
October 31st, 2017 at 2:13 PM ^
You make good points, and I suspect you are right about what JH was thinking; however, I do not necessarily agree with your conclusion.
The reason BP is in a rapid improvment phase NOW is that he is playing NOW, and if we would have had that phase available for MSU, I suspect we win that game. I also believe Speight would have made a difference, even in the weather, and I also believe O'Korn wins that game in normal weather.
In the end, I guess we just were not supposed to win that game, but I do think whatever JH was thinking cost us there. I trust his judgment though, and it's all good. We'll get them next year.
October 31st, 2017 at 3:26 PM ^
After the Rutgers game, Peters said he started preparing differently--as if he were the starter--after Speight went down with injury. That seems the most likely explanation for why he's rapidly improving now.
October 31st, 2017 at 4:59 PM ^
Well, I feel playing experience has a lot more to do with it than how he prepares, but that's just me.
October 31st, 2017 at 4:55 PM ^
I don't get this take. Program insiders, during both spring and fall camps, said Peters' didn't know enough of the playbook to earn the #2 spot, so he was #3. As #3, he doesn't get snaps with the 1's and 2's. And program insiders have told us - repeatedly - that he wasn't doing the little things that Harbaugh expects from his QB's (studying, film, whatever?), so he stayed #2. Until Speight got hurt, he wasn't picking up anything as #3. And that is on Peters - not on Harbaugh.
Once Speight was hurt, he was #2 and began working hard, with personal tutoring from Hamilton. And here we are... It's not hindsight, its what happened because thats how it worked out. Harbaugh himself said he wasn't ready until sometime around the Indiana game.
November 1st, 2017 at 4:41 AM ^
You also did not play sports is my guess.
October 31st, 2017 at 12:18 PM ^
Harbaugh himself has said you get better at football by playing football, so it's not like he doesn't agree.
For me this seems like a similar issue to freshman Andrew Luck (as told in Rags to Roses). Harbaugh debated whether to play him or keep his RS. Ultimately decided to not play him because felt he wasn't ready, so he kept him on the bench then unleashed him the following year.
Andew Luck, former #1 overall pick (and one of the NFL's best when healthy) had to sit for a year, it happens. But I think we get blinded by seeing other true frosh or RS frosh playing and playing well and just assume something must be wrong with Peters and/or Harbaugh. He's made some mistakes here, notably some botched OL recruiting and he may have made a mistake by not playing Peters sooner but in the end we're still a million times better off now than we were under RR/Hoke. So I'll take the lumps that come with Harbaugh because the upside he gives us is Saban/Meyer level.
October 31st, 2017 at 12:33 PM ^
Gerd didn't say much about the receivers - they've improved with experience.
October 31st, 2017 at 11:51 AM ^
a calm control over the huddle... will see how he does in an away game hostile environment.
October 31st, 2017 at 11:54 AM ^
but, he never mentioned the RIVALRY other than at the bottom schedule
October 31st, 2017 at 12:03 PM ^
Oct. 28 Michigan 35 – Rutgers 14 (6-2, 3-2) (Rivalry Game)
October 31st, 2017 at 12:24 PM ^
Gerdeman does get his subtle shots in where he can.
October 31st, 2017 at 12:13 PM ^
He does keep us honest:
Michigan rushed for 334 yards on 51 attempts, which was the most yards rushing the Scarlet Knights have allowed this season. While that’s nice, they also allowed 279 yards rushing to Purdue on 10 fewer attempts one week earlier, so there’s your tablespoon of salt.
October 31st, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
All this article does for me, week in and week out, is remind me of how many times we've lost to OSU in the past too many years. Thus, I hate Michigan Monday and the "OZone".
Painful are the number of close games in this streak:
October 31st, 2017 at 2:44 PM ^
2011 should be on there. OSU had the ball down six with 2 minutes left and nearly completed a deep ball that would have probably gone for a TD.
October 31st, 2017 at 4:34 PM ^
2005 Smith to Gonzalez broke me into a thousand pieces. Still haven't recovered from that pass.
November 1st, 2017 at 4:24 PM ^
It goes in streaks. These are all close games that John Cooper could have won:
'88
'90
'92 (tie)
'95
'96
'97
'99
'00
October 31st, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^
This is a good comment. I've seen lots of qbs make their first starts and look great then they follow up that performance with a stinker. I think Peters will be okay until Wisconsin if the playcalling is good.
October 31st, 2017 at 1:24 PM ^
I always read and enjoy Michigan Monday. I wonder where Gerdeman falls on the chart with OSU love at one extreme and Michigan hate at the other. We know were most Buckeye fans fall, but Gerdeman writes almost like a Michigan fan or at least a Buckeye that doesn't hate Michigan.