The question I may not want answered: "Can anyone win with this team?"
I just have this nagging question after this last three game slide and wonder if anyone could win with this team as it is currently assembled? I am not talking about winning 7 games, duh, but being able to win a conference or 9-10 games.
I am not trying to be a doom-saying person, but if you assume the following
- The coaches put forth earnest effort to coach
- The players played their hardest for their coach
- We were as close to full strength as other teams this late in the year
It just makes me wonder about our ability to be successful any time in the near future after just getting successively mauled by Wisc, OSU and MSST since the gap still seems considerable for us to make the jump. Maybe the ceiling on this team is literally 7 games and mid-bottom of the conference, we have seemingly morphed into Indiana.
As scary as this sounds, in a way I almost hope that either the coaches were delinquent in their responsibilities to game plan (possible) or players just gave up (doesn't seem as evident) just so we have "reason" to explain their performance. Without that explanation, I am left with the hope that dramatic improvement, which was not evident from game 1 to game 13, somehow happens over the spring/summer which will enable us to actually be a contender next year. As it stands, that seems like a big ask for anyone to be able to accomplish. Looking for some wisdom from the board here.
EDIT: Apologies for poor wording. I am asking about the talent level team as it is currently assembled via the recruiting classes of the last few years. Could anyone do better with our current players than a 7-6 record? We seem undersized in many areas without having elite speed to make up for the size differential. If you say "yes", then it is the coach's fault. If you say "no", then we will require more than just this new recruiting class to bridge the gap.
January 3rd, 2011 at 3:06 PM ^
I think that the past few years may have conditioned Michigan fans to fear more teams on the schedule because the process of changing offensive (and defensive) philosophies has taken three years - we're getting three and five wins during a season instead of nine or ten. We've had to re-adjust expectations and that's a difficult thing to do with the culture/tradition of winning that this team has. I don't blame you for thinking the way you do.
I'm of the opinion that it's probably wrong to blame the players/personnel. It's probably more of a psychological/perception thing for fans that we might not trust next year's coach right away, whoever that is.
EDIT: Seeing as my answer didn't answer the question you actually asked, I'll frame my answer a little differently.
Assuming that many of these players are here next year regardless of who coaches, I think RR has his type of players on this team - and his players just aren't big like many of the other teams in the conference. I've written and erased this paragraph several times in the process of forming an opinion, and I guess I can't form an answer (during work hours, at least) that doesn't sound like I'm not blaming the coaches - which is unfortunate because, for the most part, this is Rodriguez's team and I like Rodriguez as a coach.
Do I like him as a coach at Michigan? That will have to wait until after work hours. And for a different thread.
January 3rd, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^
I've written and erased this paragraph several times in the process of forming an opinion, and I guess I can't form an answer (during work hours, at least) that doesn't sound like I'm not blaming the coaches
Relax - the MGoBubble has finally burst, and it's safe to assign responsibility to the coaches now.
January 3rd, 2011 at 2:43 PM ^
That the starting secondary for the final games was comprised of a position-switch-WR-turned-CB, two true freshman and a sophomore former walk-on. This in turn required us to play a lot more conservatively on defense, further exacerbated by the fact that we only had 3 big ten ready defensive linemen.
Like a lot of people, I don't want to discuss who is to blame or whether we should keep RR or not b/c of this.
I would assume, however, that regardless of whomever coaches the team next year, the defense will at least improve simply on the basis that we shouldn't have to play true freshman anymore (assuming that these young guys continue to lift weights, watch film and do drills; and there is no reason to think that they wouldn't do all these things).
January 3rd, 2011 at 2:48 PM ^
The problem with this question is not syntax, but in temporal orientation. The season is over, and the team that got mauled by tOSU, the MSUs, and Wisconsin will be one year stronger and more experienced when the season opens next year.
January 3rd, 2011 at 3:59 PM ^
Won't the teams that mauled Michigan this year also "be one year stronger and more experienced when the season opens next year?"
January 3rd, 2011 at 3:26 PM ^
I can with this team.
I will.
I did.
January 3rd, 2011 at 3:27 PM ^
One of the most troubling things I saw was Michigan not getting all 11 players lined up when MSU was on our 1 yard line. If the 11th player hadn't been running through our defensive formation at the last second, we may have held them. It is inexcusable for our DC to not have his goal line defense ready to go when the other team is at our goal line.
January 3rd, 2011 at 4:09 PM ^
Bo.
Also, I won with this team in NCAA Football 2011.