Recall the overreaction after Game 1 last year
The overreaction and outcry after last night's game is not unexpected. Heck, even I was disappointed in Michigan's performance. But it reminds me an awful lot like the overreaction after Game 1 last season, only the opposite extreme.
After last year's Florida game, it was an overreaction to the positive/optimistic side. "The team is great!" "This is the year!" "We're back!" etc. I think you guys were teased for 2 primary reasons:
- Michigan happened to play arguably it's best game of the season in its first game of the season.
- Michigan also had games about the 3/4 point of last season with great rushing performances (Minnesota), but I think the Florida game was probably Michigan's most complete game of the season. That they weren't able to duplicate that performance caused for a big letdown in the games that followed.
- Florida turned out to not be who we thought they were.
- The expectation for Florida last season was to potentially challenge Georgia in the SEC East. Turns out Florida was a slug. As the season went on, the beauty of Michigan's handling of Florida was lessened.
For these 2 reasons, it became obvious as the season progressed that the win over Florida was not what it appeared in the moment. The positive spin after that game proved to be an overreaction. I see the possibility of the reverse happening now.
Perhaps we'll look back and identify the ND game as Michigan's worst performance of the entire season. Maybe they just happened to play their worst game of the season in the first game of the season. Let the season play out a few more games before we establish a true identity as to who 'Michigan 2018' is.
Also, it's possible that Notre Dame has really put it together. What if they go on to have a great season, their Michigan win being one of the key wins in a potential playoff resume? Perhaps ND will finish undefeated and we'll look back and see that their win over Michigan was the only time somebody played ND within single digits.
Just like the positive overreaction following Florida last season, consider that the negative reaction now could end up being a severe overreaction.
Let the season play out.
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:28 PM ^
Neg me.
I can take it.
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:40 PM ^
Why are you here. Why do you even care to comment on a Michigan Football Blog? Why? You must really have no life.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:03 PM ^
Seriously dude! The guy makes complete sense. He makes valid points. It's not like he is trolling us. His optimism is much higher than mine right now. I'll give him that.
September 2nd, 2018 at 7:37 PM ^
That's because he likes to see us suck, he's a buckeye fan. Just another way to get enjoyment out of our misery.
September 2nd, 2018 at 7:39 PM ^
Schadenfreude is a beautiful thing, is it not?
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:49 PM ^
I'm here because I love you.
September 2nd, 2018 at 6:00 PM ^
Love on a sports blog....I just don't know.
One suspects that you are here to poke some daggers at UM while trying to inject some humor.
What is is, but a buckeye spending substantial time on its biggest revival? I just don't know.
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:51 PM ^
I like you buckeye Chuck, you are probably one of two buckeye fans that i can stand on this board. I hope you are right, but I can't get my hopes up until the O line is fixed. In saying that, do you believe that Ed Warinner will be able to get our Oline up to "good" by the end of the season given he used to be your O line coach? I would just like to know your opinion since you probably watched him make your Olines better at Ohio State more closely than any of us Michigan fans, since we've been glued to watching this train wreck for the last decade.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:48 PM ^
I don't know the X's & O's and technique well enough to be able to evaluate Warriner as a coach. I do know that Buckeye Nation liked him, but he did not perform well when he was involved in OC duties.
He seemed to recruit very well, but whether that was a result of him or the OSU brand I do not know.
September 2nd, 2018 at 6:04 PM ^
I thought I read somewhere that Meyer was blaming Warinner for recruiting low ranked O linemen and that was something you guys were trying to get fixed currently.?. I could be wrong about that, but I thought he worked magic with either diamonds in the rough, or lowly ranked guys that were naturally aggressive.
Anyway, if you talk to someone on your side of the the rivalry thats better with the X's &O's and can give you solid info please feel free to make another OP about Warinner as an O line coach while at OSU. Your posts are usually well thought out, and I have yet to see you troll this board hard. Because of that, I believe there are many people on this board who actually appreciate your input.
September 2nd, 2018 at 7:27 PM ^
All I know is I watched Gopher team all year last season here in Mpls. I wasn’t the least bit impressed by the lack of their O-line improvement.
September 2nd, 2018 at 6:05 PM ^
Lol up-voted because I appreciate a solid troll job.
September 2nd, 2018 at 6:12 PM ^
When a Buckeye is making more sense than Michigan fans, you know shit has gotten bad. Damn it, we need to start winning.
September 2nd, 2018 at 8:38 PM ^
Don't tell me what to do! You make valid points. That does not qualify for a neg from this guy.
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:37 PM ^
This. Maybe Michigan will go 8-4. Maybe they will go 10-2. Either way we will find out in no time. Stop making huge judgements from one game we lost by 7, on the road, at night, first game, against good-great team.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:31 PM ^
It's gucci! .... 8-4 is better than 7-5!
September 2nd, 2018 at 9:33 PM ^
All the power rankings have us going 8-5 at best. Unless there is some sort of epiphany with this team, that's probably about right.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:42 AM ^
Is it really that hard to believe that the defense won't come out so sloppy the rest of the way and that the offense should improve now that they have some games to get things figured out?
Yeah, if they play exactly like they did at Notre Dame, 8-5 makes sense. They won't though.
September 3rd, 2018 at 10:16 AM ^
How did you get so many negative points?
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:43 PM ^
The truth is, last night was a huge let down because expectations for this team were so high that even the media was buying it. However, the lost last night showed us that there is a lot for this team to prove. There is some hope, but I think we would all just be happy for this team to get a win over our real rivals, OSU and MSU. Lets do that before we even start talking B10 Champs or Natl Champs!
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:57 PM ^
Notre Dame is a real rival (although they may not think so and rightfully so).
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:59 PM ^
Actually what ND fans say is "SC is a rival, Navy is a friend and Michigan is the enemy."
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:32 PM ^
Agree fully. How about we start with winning against some quality teams... Wisc, PSU.... then move on to beating some rivals like ND, MSU, and OSU.... then maybe you can start talking about BIG10 and Playoffs. Until then it is 7-5 and a fried onion bowl!
September 2nd, 2018 at 6:13 PM ^
I didn't expect to see the interior defensive line getting pushed around as much.
September 2nd, 2018 at 7:46 PM ^
I did. First year starters against Notre Dame’s NFL caliber OC and LG. Strongest part of their line versus our weakest.
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:47 PM ^
1-6 against rivals, 4-6 last 10 games.
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:54 PM ^
So many people thought ND this year would be the same as Florida last year. Lolz
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:55 PM ^
If you were jumping up and down after the Florida win last year you don’t know football. There were a ton of issues offensively in that game and it was obvious Florida wasn’t very good. The next couple of games proved that even more
It was obvious Michigan would take a step back last year but it’s how bad offensively that caused the concern. Fast forward to yesterday once again it’s not the loss that’s the issue it’s how bad the team, especially the offense looked.
I didn’t expect to go into ND at night and win but I thought I would see an improved offense. Instead we witnessed a complete cluster from top to bottom. That’s the cause for concern
September 2nd, 2018 at 6:16 PM ^
I was way concerned over the dysfunction I saw in the passing game. And the big issue is, I continued to see all year. An even bigger problem is, I saw it last night too. Where was the discipline? Where was the cadence?
September 8th, 2018 at 10:11 AM ^
Agreed.
I don't watch a win and immediately see some great team of the past. Sure, winning ugly is still a win and I'll still take it but that doesn't mean I delude myself that Michigan is magically on top again.
And the same is true for losing. Losing against good play by the other team while we too play well, okay. Losses happen. But losing ugly shows that the team isn't in great shape and losing ugly against another team who didn't play some great game either is a very ominous sign for the season.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:02 PM ^
I for one could tell Florida was hot garbage.
I don't think its an overreaction to see in game one the main and obvious problem is not even close to being fixed (offensive line) and is probably worse. Its not an overreaction to realize you're looking at another season of rotating unready QB's running for their lives because one of the greatest programs in college football history can't put together even a marginal, average offensive line.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^
I think we all could tell as soon as we saw Felipe Franks.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:39 PM ^
Who went 16-24 with 5 TD's and 0 INT's last night with a very good coach now at the helm.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:41 PM ^
Sweet stats you forgot to add he played Charleston Southern
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:45 PM ^
EXACCTTTLY. He may have improved but last year he looked like the second coming of nick sheridan, but in a gators uni.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:45 PM ^
EXACCTTTLY. He may have improved but last year he looked like the second coming of nick sheridan, but in a gators uni.
September 2nd, 2018 at 6:04 PM ^
Well that line was pretty much all in the first half and competition be damned, Nick Sheridan would've never done anything close to that. Outside of the Rudock-Indiana game in 15, I don't remember any recent QB performance on our end where we were even close to that, even against bad competition.
September 2nd, 2018 at 6:59 PM ^
Denard hrew for 244 and ran for 255 yards with 3 total TDs against ND would that count?
Just admit you were a guy who’s expectations sky rocketed after the Florida win last year
September 2nd, 2018 at 7:13 PM ^
Were we comparing Denard to Nick Sheridan as was done in the above comments? And no, I wasn't. I"m not sure how you glean that from what I've said. I'm not even sure what point you're trying to make other than that your panties are bunched up.
September 2nd, 2018 at 7:30 PM ^
was comparing nick sheridan to felipe franks in the opener for florida last year.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:05 PM ^
What if we decline after this game like we did after Florida? That is a very possible and terrible prospect. Now that people know our OTs are a disaster you think it gets easier or tougher vs top defenses?
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:11 PM ^
It definitely gets tougher, but now Ed Warinner has game tape for this line and we know he's definitely going to be a better coach than Drevno. I think it just comes down to how fast can he get it turned around? I hope we are at least competitive by the time we roll into east Lansing.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:35 PM ^
Game tape? Oh god. If you cannot evaluate the line day in day out when you are taping and scrutinizing practice reps and it takes getting your doors blown off you by NDs d-line that is concerning in and of itself.
I am with you though.... holding out hope they get by these next four games and make some adjustments and beat some of the better teams towards the end of the season. I can stomach a 3 or 4 loss year if they beat OSU and/or MSU.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:48 PM ^
They practice against the same competition they've been practicing against all camp and pick up on tendencies of those players. Playing new competition brings new adjustments, not to mention they might still have bad habits from Drevno not coaching them properly.
If anyone thinks that Warinner was going to have this line up to "great" by the first game they were kidding themselves. I honestly believe that Warinner having game tape against a very good D-line in Notre Dame will actually pay better dividends than any practice they've had so far. He will be able to see what the players are doing wrong in live action and correct it, instead of the Drevno approach of "Just keep pumping that well!".
I'm with you though, I'll be one of the few that would be okay with 8-4 if we beat MSU and OSU.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:56 PM ^
That is definitely true too. They learn tendencies and can "cheat" a little in practice. It must be clear as day though to the staff that their LT and RT are not of high quality. He isn't going to make them great in their first game. I just hope that he can bring them along. One thing I do hope though is that if they are going to struggle this year and drop games that they take a look and start getting some of the younger guys in the mix. I would be cool with pretty much any record if they beat both, LOL.
September 2nd, 2018 at 7:52 PM ^
Lol he "has game tape"
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:23 PM ^
I tend to think this will be more like 2015 than 2017.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:37 PM ^
I hope you are right... minus the not beating MSU/OSU thing.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:45 PM ^
You know, everyone cries about Harbaugh being 1-5 against, them, but keep in mind that in all but one of those losses it just as easily could be 5-1 but for one or two plays in each game. It's not as if all of those games were blowouts.
I get that there aren't "moral victories" in losses, but there is a big difference in losing by 1 score vs losing by 4 or 5 scores.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:47 PM ^
I hear you for sure. I have said that many times.
The MSU disaster, the bad play calling out of the end zone with speight vs OSU, the atrocious game plan vs MSUY last year, and even last year they were in that game vs OSU.
.... but they are 1-5 and a lot of the issues with those games did come down to scheme or play calls etc etc. You have to be razor sharp and dialed in to beat your rivals year in year out.