My hat's off to Ira Weintraub
At work today I was listening to the post game wrap up via podcast that is hosted by Ira. I believe our fanbase is a cut above most, because we're Michigan, leaders and best, and I expect our fanbase to be similar. I always get a little smile on my face when I reflect on Bob Ufer's radio call from one of the big games against Ohio State, "And here we are in Columbus in front of a sellout crowd of 10000 alumni and 74000 truck drivers." , obviously poking fun at the character of the probably ravenous crowd, and think to myself how our fanbase would never be referred to like that. I'm beginning to think some of these truck drivers had switched alliegiance.
I never believed our fanbase could ever be as virulent as I expect OSU fans to be, but after hearing what Ira had to hear after the game, some of us could be mistaken for Buckeye backers quite easily. Ira endured so much bad mouthing, I couldn't believe what some people were calling up saying. Angry because Michigan couldn't cover the spread, folks sprouting off about about our record against our Big Ten brothers -which was hilarious because they kept using the wrong record-, tired of hearing the 'excuses'. Really angry, nasty stuff; one guy even called him names.
Ira was a class act. I couldn't of done it, how he didn't let the drunken haters get to him, how he kept the show going in the right direction, discussing rational topics callers phoned in about, as well as calmly and professionally sidestepping the shower of venom; if there was a 'Purple Heart' award for radio broadcasting, Ira earned it. Hell, he would of earned a Medal of Honor.
Look forward to hearing more from you when the winning starts, Ira...
October 17th, 2010 at 5:22 PM ^
Yeah there were some really bad callers. Ira does annoy me sometimes with his homerism, but when you realize his position and who he works for its no surprise.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:27 PM ^
With the blatant and constant UM bashing from the rest of the MSM, I'll take Ira's homerism and listen to it all day, everyday.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:25 PM ^
Ira's voice is soothing.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:31 PM ^
we have to wait until the season is over before judging RR, but the fans frustration is understandable.
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<br>While I do not condone the idiotic commentary, I do agree that RR is not the guy to get the job done here.
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<br>That said, I'll be cheering my heart out and hoping RR proves me wrong over the next 5 games.
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<br>Cheering against your team because you dislike the coach is weak.I'm a Michigan fan. Nothing changes that.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:35 PM ^
I should correct myself. I mean to say that Richrod has to be permitted to finish the year because anything can happen.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:55 PM ^
Next year.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:56 PM ^
I'm always perplexed by people like you. Why can Rich not succeed here? He's a proven respected coach, the only thing holding him back is all the negative garbage surrounding the program which has hurt recruiting.
You really want to get rid of him with Denard and 9 other offensive starters returning next year because a bunch of Freshmen and Sophmores are screwing up. Why do people say "no more excuses" does it sound tough? There are simple explanations for what is going on is it too hard to open your eyes.?
You may as well get on board, he's not leaving and we're going to be smoking fools next year.
October 17th, 2010 at 6:06 PM ^
totally agree.. people still don't realize we have one of the youngest teams in the big ten and the nation
October 17th, 2010 at 6:15 PM ^
He has made awful decisions regarding d- coordinators which as a result has lead to terrible results on the field.The attrition has been alarming, the inability to beat MSU, the selection of a defensive scheme that simply makes sense in conference dominated by power rushing teams.., he has made several grievous errors that need to be corrected if he is too succeed here.
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<br>UM has no defense. They are not going to seriously compete in the Big Ten until they field a decent defense.
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<br>Why don't you understand that you need a defense to win championships?
October 17th, 2010 at 7:48 PM ^
There is NO WAY that you, nor anyone else, can know whether hiring GR is a "awful decision" or not until GR actually has some talented upperclassmen to work with -- not a flock of freshmen and sophomore and perhaps the WORST two starting LB's in Michigan 130+ year history.
The attrittion wouldn't have had such a dramatic effect if the previous regime had not left the program with a 20+ scholarship deficit, and with a cupboard so bare that we're actually starting WALK-ONS! As far as MSU goes,you have to give credit to Dantonio, he's been working the anti-Michigan rhetoric to the hilt and it's not been hard to do (App. St., OSU, bad bowl performances, 3-9, coaching change, etc). MSU is an opportunistic team, and program. They're taking advantage of Michigan's weakness right now. Everything goes in cycles, and the seeds of this change were sown a long time before RR arrived in Ann Arbor.
UM has no defense specfically because of the factors mentioned above. The previous regime was negligent and very very unlucky in 2005 and 2006 and those players SHOULD be making up our defensive roster with a bunch of talented young players rounding out the 2/3 deep. Not so much. It was a perfect storm of bad planning, bad recruiting, injuries, and just plane bad luck that put us where we are. You can piss and moan all you want about the coaching, but you cannot coaches cannot manufacture good LB's or experienced DB's or trade for a veteran DL and make the difference. CFB goes in 4-6 year cycles, and Michigan was dangerously low on talent and RR is bearing the brunt of that depletion. If you cannot understand that, frankly, you're BLIND!
October 17th, 2010 at 8:20 PM ^
Not before it. If a freshman walk-on is better than a freshman recruit, that's the fault of current recruiting, and not past.
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<br>And really?-
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<br>"plane bad luck", "the coaching, but you cannot coaches cannot" ????
October 17th, 2010 at 9:30 PM ^
I know... he makes it too easy.
Like the argument that college football goes in 4 - 6 year cycles? Really? U-M had winning seasons for 40 straight and bowl games for 32 straight. So much for that cycle theory eh?
Then he rambles on about "bad luck". There's no such thing. Luck is what you make it. Luck is the product of hard work and discipline -- not 15 yard penalties that kill drives or throwing passes across your body for interceptions (three years into the program no less) for example.
Bo even said there is no such thing as bad luck... yet we get such witty insight from someone who posted previously that "Michigan football is a big part of my life."
October 17th, 2010 at 10:55 PM ^
I basically agree, but there definitely is such a thing as bad luck. Suffering a heart attack on the morning of the Rose Bowl? The refs awarding a phantom TD to USC? That disgrace of a holding call that negated the fake punt in the '90 Rose Bowl? Just in Pasadena alone, Bo had absolutely rotten luck.
October 18th, 2010 at 1:17 AM ^
Like the argument that college football goes in 4 - 6 year cycles? Really? U-M had winning seasons for 40 straight and bowl games for 32 straight. So much for that cycle theory eh?
The 40 years of winning seasons were due to the continuity and the pipelines that Bo built., and even he had ebbs and flows in this career talent and winning wise. You've said nothing that rebutts the "cycle theory" at all -- all you've done is offered an irrelevant point. When I say that college football runs in cycles, I mean that if you let the cycle break, if you let the recruiting and development slip, it will be 4-5 years BEFORE you see the effects of that slip. The scholarship deficit was most certainly NOT caused by the coaching change, it was exasserbated but Carr and Co. sowed those seeds. The long history of winning seasons and bowl bigs goes to show that until about 2005, Michigan did a very good job maintaining its cycles. But the "bad luck:" that I was speaking of were career-ending injuries that were suffered by incoming players. Take a look at the well researched discussion on this site concerning the 2005 recruiting class and you'll see what I am talking about. Just like this year Troy Woolfolk's injury was "bad luck" and has hurt the defense by takling off the field a top player, and an upperclassmen. Why is that so hard for you to understand?
mgoblue0970, you're just a jerk...hate to speak badly about another Michigan Man...but you are. I have nothing against you, yet you chastise me and seem to want to go out of your way to belittle me. Yet, you've not written one word in effective rebuttal to my point that the Michigan depth chart is the lowest that it has been since 1969 when Bo took over the prorgram and it is THIS FACTOR, not the coach that is causing the problems that to cause you so much consternation. It's a fact, there is no arguing the point, and the pundits that study these things KNOW it to be true. That is why Brandon has said that RR will be the coach at Michigan for a "long time". Because he knows where RR had to start, he know what Michigan had become in the last few seasons under Carr. Thank goodness you're not running anything, because you're a impatient reactionary whose more focused upon immediate gratification than understanding the factors at issue. Oh wait, you have 2 degrees from Michigan...sorry to have doubted you!
October 18th, 2010 at 11:01 AM ^
For starters, and I know you have a reading comprehension problem as I've said this many times before, I am NOT looking for RR to get fired. Why you keep posting that "RR isn't going anywhere" is beyond me. I know. I've never asked for him to be fired.
I think you forgot the liar liar pants on fire reply too.
I'm a jerk. Fine. I've been called worse by better. Fact of the matter is you came on this board, disagreeing with everyone just for the sake of disagreeing.
You put people down because hey "Michigan football has been a huge part of my life" and I've been a fan since "1976". So anything you say is automatically true then. Nobody here gives a shit about your so called fan resume. It doesn't lend any credibility to your arguments. Yeah, I chastise you and go out of my way to belittle you -- I'm just following your lead. Why is that so hard for YOU to understand? Regarding communication, you get what you give.
Funny you mention that you're calling people out for being reactionary when that's what I've said of you. You have no tolerance for anyone's opinion yet when people reply to you, you resort to saying their opinion doesn't matter, essentially you're smarter than the group. Which is bull. You make a point, someone blows holes through your point, so you belittle them and then why you experience the same in return, you cry like a baby.
October 18th, 2010 at 1:30 AM ^
WolverineEagle, you say that we have no defense, or that we run schemes that won't work against power rushing teams, but you realize Iowa averaged a whopping 3.8 yards per rush against us last weekend?
We held Iowa to 383 total yards, about 30 below their season average, despite coughing up the ball a lot. That's not a great D, but I wouldn't say we have "no" D.
October 18th, 2010 at 2:33 AM ^
Go look at the recruiting classes of '07 and '08. Of the 4 DBs we signed in '07, 2 have left the team (Chambers, Warren), one is out for the season due to injury (Woolfolk), and one has suffered a series of potentially career-ending concussions (Williams). Of the three LBs we signed in '07, one has left the team (Evans) and one was a JUCO transfer and has used up his eligibility (Panter). Only Herron, a 3-star, has seen the field and he's been injured. Of the 3 DBs we signed in '08, one has left the team (Smith) and one was kicked off (Cissoko). Of the 4 LBs we signed in '08, one has left the team (Hill) and one didn't qualify academically (Witherspoon, a Carr recruit).
So, of the 14 DBs and LBs we signed in '07 and '08, only 6 are still with the program (Woolfolk, Williams, Herron, Demens, Floyd, Fitzgerald). Of those 6, 3 are injured. Of those 3, one is lost for the season, one is probably lost for good, and one has not played since Notre Dame. So for the 7 games we've played so far, we've only had 3 of our DB and LB recruits from the 14 would-be upperclassmen DB and LBs we recruited in '07 and '08.
I fail to see how any of this is Rodriguez or GERG's fault.
October 17th, 2010 at 6:29 PM ^
I'm perplexed too...
This thread was about those who have silly, misguided, mean, yada, yada, yada opinions about RR and Michigan Football. By the same token however there are some in the pro-RR camp who act the same way!!!
There's nothing wrong with critiquing this team. We CAN be on board and question why this team still makes stupid penalties, why this team has turned the ball over the same way since 2008... and we can still be fans (even classy fans) while doing it. I'm sick and tired of when someone posts something about Michigan that isn't all puppy dogs and lollipops, someone has to come out an say "get on board". Uh, we are on board.
Otherwise folks wouldn't have much of an opinion.
Fact of the matter is, Michigan gave another game to Iowa yesterday. Two years in a row. Michigan gives away a lot of games and it's not unreasonable to say fans, even the ones who are "on board", are going to say something about it.
October 17th, 2010 at 7:08 PM ^
Just use some freakin intelligence. Wolveagle posted are defense is ill prepared for the "power" Big Ten. We have used a 4 man line 80% of the time the last 2 weeks. Yelling about a 3-3-5 that does not exist is stupid, that is not intelligent criticism.
Greg Robinson won 2 Super Bowls and has coached with many of the greats in coaching.
So the logical conclusion to why our defense sucks is that he is an imbecile, not talent or freshmen running around?
Does that mean Greg is above criticism? No I question a lot of the things we're doing but yelling everyone sucks were Michigan this is unacceptable is not worth the space.
October 17th, 2010 at 8:16 PM ^
By people who question other people's intelligence, but then write something using such poor grammar.
October 17th, 2010 at 8:52 PM ^
Ahhh... the 'ol intelligence argument. The bastion of those who don't have anything to say so they resort to puffery to make themselves seem smarter than the group.
Well, regarding the defense, what's the quickest way to help a young secondary out? Put pressure on the QB. Force him into a rush situation or don't let him make the throw in the first place. Having 5 DBs out there, without blitzing even one of them, doesn't necessarily help the cause. So in that context, critiquing the scheme is certainly valid. Take your emotion out of it for just a second
Besides this thread is about criticism -- I noted that for all the people in the fire RR camp saying ridiculous things, the ones that come his defense say just as stupid things. You replied with "intelligence"... well done! :)
October 17th, 2010 at 10:12 PM ^
Blitzing worked out really well against State.
October 17th, 2010 at 9:37 PM ^
What cause do you have for your disdain and hatred, has he offendend you in a personal way, you must see the progress in this team. By the way Gerg does have a good resume, the Denver bronco,s
October 17th, 2010 at 5:34 PM ^
Are awesome. I like people who can dislike a cog in the machine and not make them hate the whole machine. Yes.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:43 PM ^
Who really the eff cares dude. geez. give it an effing rest.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:44 PM ^
I can understand and at least respect well-thought out arguments as to why Rich Rod should no longer be the coach, but what he (and we) heard yesterday could be summed up with, "IRA WAKE UP BRO HE'S 4-19 IN THE BIG TEN HE GOTTA GO STOP COVERING LYING FOR HIM YOU B*TCH"
It was hilarisad.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:45 PM ^
That caller has counting issues....I heard him to.
October 17th, 2010 at 8:25 PM ^
4 out of 19. Not as horrible an error as Ira made it out to be. But just as "well, duh" on the informative front. I'll be more interested to see if he's closer to 9 out of 24 or 4 out of 24 in December.
October 17th, 2010 at 8:47 PM ^
Watch out, M-Wolverine is considering turning on RichRod. At least he's giving him 3 full years, far more than he gave Beilein (who actually made the tournament for the first time in over a decade, since I'm sure he's forgotten).
M-Wolv, though obviously that was intended to push your buttons, what do you think of JB's class this year assuming they get Pointer (didn't think it was worth a whole new thread during football season)?
October 17th, 2010 at 9:09 PM ^
And you know I love you. :-)
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<br>I've said since last year on Rich though, there's no point in saying FIRE or EXTEND till the year's done. And I think at this point enough will probably be accomplished to bring him back. I'd like to see us beat OSU, or at least Wisconsin, to show everyone that he's coming back strong, but it's not going to prevent him from returning if he doesn't.
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<br>To be fair, Beilein's team regressed, and probably will again this year, so there is a difference between him and Rich. That, and Rich is a lot further away from retirement, so there's a bit more time for a turnaround to take place. (There's more or less system objections too, but that's not really the question).
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<br>To your main question, I think it would show progress, and an ability to start acquiring some talent. I'd still be worried about the failure to get a true low post big man for the Big Ten, as well as local recruiting. The fact that we'd miss out on another true blue-chipper that isn't the one and done type that we have targeted would also be worrisome. But if those 2 classes can start causing some wins on the court, around the same time our new practice facility opens, maybe he could change that. I'd still like to see us land our top rated recruit for a change. (These are guys he has gone after...not some wish list of guys we were never in on). We didn't get the swing creator we needed last class, so Pointer could be a poor Man's version, so maybe the tough big man we're going to seemingly miss out on this year we can get next year.
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<br>But it's the same for both programs. Need to win to get recruits; need to recruit to get wins.
October 19th, 2010 at 8:16 AM ^
What do you think of the class if they don't get Pointer, which it now looks like they won't (or Amir which now seems like a long shot, though I'm still not sure why)?
October 17th, 2010 at 9:54 PM ^
That's typical Ira ... deflect criticism of RR by focusing on the caller's error. Ira's overt homerism is really starting to become tiresome.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:45 PM ^
Hats off to the market finally bouncing back.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:51 PM ^
At 40 seconds in caller "Tim" calls to hassel Ira about the loss and Jamie Morris to which Ira hangs up on him. Then the same guy AGAIN calls in during the same segment at the 11 minute mark of this section of the podcast only this time as "Bill". Ira didn't catch on that it was the same person. He held his own though and I salute him as well.
http://wtka.com/index.php?fuseaction=home.podcasts_sel&id=8304
October 17th, 2010 at 5:51 PM ^
It's amazing isn't it? Not so long ago we had a bunch of Lloyd bashers complaining about Michigan's conservative approach and underachievement on the field. I always used to say be careful what you wish for. Well here we are. We have a new coach and a new system and we better all get behind him unless we want another 5 years of transitioning and rebuilding...There is no quick fix. We are seeing improvement and it kills me to read some of the negative comments on this board.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:56 PM ^
means 5 years of rebuilding? It didn't take Saban or Dantonio to do so.It certainly did not take Bo 5 years.
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<br>If you get a guy who can coach defense you can win a lot of games within 3 years. History proves that.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:58 PM ^
What don't you get about this team improving?
October 17th, 2010 at 6:01 PM ^
but defensively they have not improved in 3 years.
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<br>It should not take three years to build an average defense.
October 17th, 2010 at 6:19 PM ^
How long should it take?
October 17th, 2010 at 6:39 PM ^
October 17th, 2010 at 7:28 PM ^
Listen should we have a better defense after 3 years of coaching? Yes, you are correct. Can you also look at our roster and concede we are not in good shape right now and that it got a lot harder when your best defender couldn't play. You leave no room for bad luck or bad decisions?
RR made a bad coordinator hire in year 1, he made some poor gambles(forced into by negative press but whatever) and we had a few washouts /injuries.
Listen Rich I realize you will probably have 1 of the best offenses in Big Ten history next year and have landed some explosive recruits to go with that offensive arsenal and you also return every single decent defensive player save Jonas and getting Troy back from injury will most likely help you immeasurably on defense but we have to let you go because you made a bad hire and missed on a few recruits.
Is this a logical conversation Brandon should have ? If you disagree where do I stretch reason in that above statement
October 17th, 2010 at 6:19 PM ^
It didn't take dantonio 5 years to rebuild? Are you an idiot.?
Before this year he barely had a winning record
This is MSU's best start in 40 years, they have a lot of senior leadership on that team.
MSU never switched from a pro style offense to a spread either... and still struggled when dantonio came in.
Lets see... 7-6, 9-4 all because of ringer, and 6-7. Now in his FOURTH year he has a undefeated record at 7-0.. with the easiest schedule in the Big Ten by far..
While they have regressed in records under dantonio we most likely will NOT.
Before beating wisconsin this year they had not beaten a ranked team since 06, other than us the last couple of years when we shouldn't have been ranked anyway.
October 17th, 2010 at 8:29 PM ^
Would know 4 < 5 years, and that they did switch from a spread to a pro style (which if this site is to be believed would doom us to 5 more years of rebuilding). Can't have it both ways...
October 17th, 2010 at 5:52 PM ^
I never believed our fanbase could ever be as virulent as I expect OSU fans to be, but after hearing what Ira had to hear after the game, some of us could be mistaken for Buckeye backers quite easily.
Is this really shocking? Every fanbase has idiots. And they love talk radio.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:55 PM ^
Thanks for the post Ira.
October 17th, 2010 at 6:00 PM ^
I wonder how Columbus radio was after last night... probably just as bad.
October 17th, 2010 at 6:21 PM ^
Yea, i wonder if that weirdo on youtube has posted any videos threatening OSU players.
October 17th, 2010 at 7:41 PM ^
A new Redneck Rocker video where he threatens to choke out Pryor if he continues to make poor decisions in the passing game would heal a lot of wounds.
October 17th, 2010 at 6:03 PM ^
IMO, Dantonio still hasn't proven anything. Hell if anything, Treadwell is the reason for their success. Sparty idiots are on the bandwagon, but when they struggle next year and realized they haven't really turned the corner, they'll shit on Dantonio just like they did last year.
October 17th, 2010 at 6:06 PM ^
I hate the guy as much as anyone, but he has MSU off to their best start in 44 years. His record while mediocre is still far superior to RR's.