New OL come this Saturday?
September 30th, 2013 at 2:58 PM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 3:28 PM ^
I'm pretty sure Bosch is going to enroll early.
September 30th, 2013 at 3:02 PM ^
Holy balls please tell me the Bosch thing is a joke. If not -- man, we've got problems.
September 30th, 2013 at 3:15 PM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 3:23 PM ^
Jeebus seriously. Teams have played freshmen on the o-line before without the world coming to an end.
September 30th, 2013 at 3:35 PM ^
But that doesn't fit the MGoMeme that freshman can't start on the O-Line! Brian said it a few times, so it has to be true!
September 30th, 2013 at 3:43 PM ^
Is sarcastic Brian-bashing going to be the new MGoMeme? Are we going to have endless tilting at the Brian = Big Brother windmill in the name of shameless ego-stroking? Does the illusion of sticking it to Da Man really make your manhood any bigger?
September 30th, 2013 at 3:54 PM ^
You've heard the story before. Man creates monster. Monster destroys man.
September 30th, 2013 at 5:54 PM ^
man enables mosquitos;
mosquitos sting man (showing no remorse; but, after all, they're mosquitos).
September 30th, 2013 at 10:25 PM ^
"Man creates monster. Monster destroys man."
Woman inherits the earth.
September 30th, 2013 at 4:05 PM ^
and the whole recruiting reporting blow up thing, you can expect to see a lot of this. There are a bunch of disgruntled posters on here who still love the blog but not the behavior we saw last week. While I am not one of the most outspoken, I do understand their point as while the blog has gotten larger it has followed the natural process of becoming a corporate group-think ecosystem with about 60% of bloggers worshipping the creator/mods, 20% contrarians, and another 20% agnostic observers. The 60% are pushing us 20% observers towards the 20% contrarian, especially when shit gets handled like it did last week.
September 30th, 2013 at 4:15 PM ^
that all of those numbers are not only wrong quantitatively, but proportionally as well. I seriously think the contrarians are, at the risk of repeating the same metaphor in consecutive comments, tilting at windmills.
I also submit that the blowup last week wasn't handled poorly at all. I tend to have zero sympathy for those who participate in a free service that someone is providing of their own volition who then complain nonstop that the service isn't run to their particular standards. This blog in particular I feel is extremely lenient when it comes to taboo topics and personal attacks.
September 30th, 2013 at 4:17 PM ^
I don't know about personal attacks, but this blog is way oversensitive about taboo topics.
September 30th, 2013 at 4:20 PM ^
The commenters can be sensitive, but the mods tend to let things go unless they seriously jump the shark.
In my experience with blogging, even the most casual mention of religion or politics gets people banned. An awful lot of blogs are really hard up.
September 30th, 2013 at 4:30 PM ^
From what I have seen, politics threads get locked really fast here. But I don't see that as taboo as much as avoiding irrelevant subject matter with discussions that never end well.
Taboo is stuff like questioning the worthiness of one of RichRod's 3* recruits back in the day. In general, you aren't allowed to question the football worthiness of a recruit. That's just one example that I can think of. There have been more than a few others.
Although I will say that things have gotten better since they got rid of that crappy voting system that made your post hidden if just a few people didn't like it.
September 30th, 2013 at 5:00 PM ^
I've seen plenty of comments regarding the need for certain recruits IF the commentor brings solid reasoning and/or statistcs to back their position. (i.e. "why are we bringing X number of smaller receivers in a class when we have Y already on roster with Z number returing). This is much different than the bashing of a recuit saying "this kid's film looks like he doesn't belong in the MAC why would RichRod ever think he could play at Michigan"
September 30th, 2013 at 5:01 PM ^
From what I have seen, politics threads get locked really fast here. But I don't see that as taboo as much as avoiding irrelevant subject matter with discussions that never end well.
Politics is basically the one iron-clad, hard-and-fast. other-thing-with-hyphens rule around here. In that respect, the board is draconian as hell. It's for the best.
Taboo is stuff like questioning the worthiness of one of RichRod's 3* recruits back in the day. In general, you aren't allowed to question the football worthiness of a recruit. That's just one example that I can think of. There have been more than a few others.
There's a fine line between questioning a recruit's "football worthiness" and being a jackwagon. You can say "I worry [recruit X] doesn't have the size to compete for a starting spot." You CAN'T say, "I think [recruit X] sucks and is terrible and unintelligent and his mother is ugly." The middle ground is patrolled by the mods.
Although I will say that things have gotten better since they got rid of that crappy voting system that made your post hidden if just a few people didn't like it.
FWIW, if that system ever returns, it only greys out comments if the user so chooses. I had my account set up to show all comments, including those deemed by my esteemed colleagues to be terrible.
September 30th, 2013 at 7:49 PM ^
Could you say "I worry [recruit X] doesn't have the size to compete for a starting spot, but I would literally bang the shit out of his mom"? Or is that part of the gray area you're referring to?
September 30th, 2013 at 4:33 PM ^
Nothing the new MGoBlog NDA can't solve!
September 30th, 2013 at 4:43 PM ^
Yes it is free for us but brian is making a living off of it as are others, maybe? Ad revenue, speaking engagements, all the like are a result of the traffic this site recieves and what contribute to allowing brian to do this rathen than lets say working for espn or a newspaper. Obviously it his site so his rules, but caring about what the consumer thinks can, and should be important and brain can be pretty dismissive.
For the record I disagree a lot with Brian but my issue isn't with him, it's with the people who refuse to ever let anything negative about his opinions be said, and that is a large portion of this blog.
September 30th, 2013 at 5:38 PM ^
"it's with the people who refuse to ever let anything negative about his opinions be said"
Funny, you (and others in this very thread) just said something negative about his opinions yet are still here. You have the ability and privilege to post here. That doesn't mean you're entitled to expect everyone, or anyone, to agree with you. Just because you're in the minority doesn't mean you're oppressed or that the majority is engaging in "groupthink".
The much more plausible explanation is that this blog is very much defined by Brian's personality and opinions, and so if you really don't like that you're probably not going to stick around to comment. Which is to say, the format of this blog is going to attract like-minded folk by it's very nature. You might consider that a bug, but apparently it's working pretty well for the proprietors, whose interests this blog ultimately serves.
September 30th, 2013 at 11:04 PM ^
Spot on. I don't agree with Brian on everything but nearly every time someone puts forth an argument in agreemenet with Brian on here (usually without even referencing Brian), someone attacks them for being a sheep. As if no one could rationally come to the same conclusions as Brian, especially when I love this site for being data-driven and I did in MS in logic and analytical philosophy. It is true that there are a few worshippers in the sense that someone earlier stated, but instead of 60%, it's probaly 10% or lower.
September 30th, 2013 at 6:07 PM ^
on multiple occasions, and oddly enough I've never been banned or had one of those comments deleted or had points removed or otherwise experienced any retribution whatsoever.
Some of Brian's writing is inspired stuff, and some of it is overwrought oblique rambling. David Foster Wallace bores the shit out of me, too. I'm not worried I'm going to wake up in La Paz.
September 30th, 2013 at 8:05 PM ^
Also, you possibly/probably overestimating the lack of dissenters or people that unanimously agree with Brian or the other blog leadership. Although generally I either agree with Brian or understand Brian's points, there are plenty of times I disagree with him (or others) but I don't bother to comment or criticize it. Not necessarily because I realize voicing an opinion on the internet can be quite frivolous or fruitless, but because I am lazy. Additionally, I'm always fine with people criticizing him or his ideas; however, that doesn't stop me critiquing the criticisms for being meritless, hypocritical, etc.
September 30th, 2013 at 10:24 PM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 4:46 PM ^
Free service that is dependent on user generated content....I am tired of the meme that this is some sort of gift to the masses. While staff provide quality articles, the community provides a shit ton of content that help the blog to be a community and actually adds tangible value in SEO, linking, referrals, etc. The value of the site is directly correlated to its user base....Shitting on those people because the blog is now big enough to do without them is both fucked up and bad Karma.
September 30th, 2013 at 5:26 PM ^
If last week constitutes "shitting" on people or that the people who were "shat" on provide essential content to this site is both pejorative and inaccurate. "Don't be a dick" and "err on the side of extra-conservative when talking about high school kids" rules aren't exactly indicative of the iron fist of tyranny it's portrayed as by the disgruntled.
September 30th, 2013 at 5:31 PM ^
That last week never happened?
Wait, no. The last three weeks never happened.
HOW 'BOUT THAT NOTRE DAME GAME!!! DEVIN, AMIRITE??!?!?!?!?
September 30th, 2013 at 5:48 PM ^
I think that's the whole point here. "Err on the side of extra-conservative when talking about high school kids" is the expectation the blog was trying to set for the community. However, many users (most notably parents) were concerned with the said interviews to begin with. These posters were dismissed as "not gettting it" regarding the industry, current biz of recruiting info, survival of a free content blog, etc. Concurrently, the people who commented, some rudely, about the kid's age/appearance were demonized. This is classic hypocricy. Frankly, it's not even as much about the few posters who were called out as much as the dismissive reaction to the entire conversation. This is the duality that I believe frustrated a bunch of the user base.
September 30th, 2013 at 6:33 PM ^
Two things.
Firstly, I don't believe for a second that the initial pushback concerning Brian's "be nice to recruits" post had anything to do with this perceived hypocrisy. I think it had everything to do with "you can't tell me what to do" and the discussion of interviews with recruits followed.
Secondly, failure to understand fine distinctions does not justify cries of hypocrisy. Yes, I find recruiting on the creepy side. No, I don't think it's the same thing as posting iffy comments on a blog about said recruits.
September 30th, 2013 at 9:09 PM ^
There were legitimate concerns in that thread from serious posters. If you feel the need to dismiss that for loyalty or whatever your agenda is than so be it. People posting in that thread were addressing serious issues but have been brushed aside as "irresponsible" and grouped in with the disrespectful posters because it is easier to deal with them that way...This is because the conversation presents an existential threat to the blog. The majority of dissenters were not the disrespectful but truly creeped out.
September 30th, 2013 at 6:36 PM ^
There's a proper time and place for the concerns that were raised in that thread and that wasn't it. It reminded me of some of the "Hello" posts that have been hijacked by people complaining about the coaches, current players, etc. I would like to see these posts be for discussion about the player, period. If we're going to be sensitive to the coverage of HS students, we should realize that they are likely to read the stories about themselves. So might their friends and family. None of them are going to like seeing posts about how creepy the interviews and/or photos are. Some of the posters who were criticized were raising a legitimate concern. Some were just being snarky at a kid's expense. Despite the occasional preachiness, none of them were putting themselves in the recruit's place.
Starting a thread to discuss limits on recruiting coverage would have been the responsible way to air concerns. I don't think it's too late for someone to do that. We might well have a good discussion without dragging a particular HS kid into it.
September 30th, 2013 at 7:26 PM ^
And in any case, don't fool yourselves. You may think this is an autonomous collective, but we're living in a dictatorship.
So don't antagonize the dictator ;)
September 30th, 2013 at 8:14 PM ^
Much better than the prior blind defense of the thread, claiming users were looking for an excuse to bash the blog staff.
October 1st, 2013 at 12:57 PM ^
"I tend to have zero sympathy for those who participate in a free service that someone is providing of their own volition who then complain nonstop that the service isn't run to their particular standards."
It isn't a free service.
It's a no monetary cost service, like broadcast television and radio.
September 30th, 2013 at 4:41 PM ^
been said over and over again. These same "groupthink" accusations were common in 2009
September 30th, 2013 at 4:46 PM ^
that doesn't mean its not true, it could just be true for 4 years.
September 30th, 2013 at 5:28 PM ^
Decent numbers of people with similar interests can actually agree on stuff without being subject to mob mentality...and cries of "groupthink" are merely indicative of high butthurt levels among the minority.
September 30th, 2013 at 6:39 PM ^
October 1st, 2013 at 6:42 PM ^
Your "don't be an ass" reply started this lengthy diversion. What's funny about that is, I don't think the guy was ripping Brian in saying "if Brian said it, it must be true", I think he was ripping on all of the Dear Leader worshippers that jump to his defense - and there you were - right on cue!
September 30th, 2013 at 3:43 PM ^
Brian said it doesn't mean it's not common knowledge or untrue. Go fight the establishment somewhere else, hippie!
September 30th, 2013 at 6:04 PM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 4:21 PM ^
But that doesn't fit the MGoMeme that freshman can't start on the O-Line!That's hardly an "MGoMeme". It's conventional wisdom. The vast majority of freshmen OL are not ready to start. There are a few who are, though.
September 30th, 2013 at 3:39 PM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 7:53 PM ^
The sample size you just listed is not indicative of the NCAA fotball programs in general. You are listing the owner of 3 of the last 4 national championships who most likely have multiple multiyear starters beside those freshmen.
Michigan has two seniors, a highly rated guy who maybe could have played as a freshman, an undersized guy who was recruited for completely different attributes and a walk on (this is not saying he cannot do it, just probably is not ready to do it as soon as he walks onto campus),
What I'm saying is your samples size is absurd and there really isn't a point to bringing up Alabama if you're not for their roster management techniques.
September 30th, 2013 at 3:47 PM ^
Redshirt freshmen, you are right.
True freshmen -- there are very very few. It's the one position where I am willing to buy the "never put in a freshman" conventional wisdom. It's the one position where it seems as if, no matter what, we redshirt guys no matter how studly they are or how bad the guys ahead of them are. If we have to burn a true freshman's redshirt, its a really costly move and it means that we are desperate.
September 30th, 2013 at 6:17 PM ^
imo, i think we are getting close to desparation on the interior line. it's about as bad as i've ever seen at UM and i've been a ticket holder for 30 yrs. i don't care if bosch is a frosh, if he is outperforming his competition. that said, i think bosch may be just an emergency option (ie. if bryant and/or another interior lineman gets hurt).
September 30th, 2013 at 5:17 PM ^
Plus, as the MGoMeme goes, Bosch enrolled early. Those extra few months can make a big differences in the development for young players. I think if he can compete and improve our current line, then we should absolutely play him.