Rich Rod on Illinois game last year and wanting to coach
here is an article from Rich Rod about the crazy illinois game last year and his desire to coach again.
http://www.illinihq.com/sports/illini-sports/football/2011-11-10/asmuss…
November 11th, 2011 at 2:24 PM ^
Obviously a fantastically fantastic fantisy I have shared with you though.
November 11th, 2011 at 2:31 PM ^
Because I think about it constantly and have to go mastu...err I mean read the paper to keep myself from thinking about it. Yeah, that's what I meant to say.
November 11th, 2011 at 2:43 PM ^
No shame I can't even spell fantasy much less finish without making a mess. Ectoplasm, I swear!!
November 11th, 2011 at 2:20 PM ^
I wonder if RR is screaming out plays at the TV like me when we look clueless on offense
November 11th, 2011 at 4:29 PM ^
RR + Mattison would probably be the best combo--but that never happened and it never will.
November 11th, 2011 at 4:30 PM ^
The OC/ DC respectively that is.
November 11th, 2011 at 6:59 PM ^
It would have been a great combo thats for sure but I'm not sure any top-flight DC wanted to work for him with the way he meddles so much with things.
November 12th, 2011 at 1:00 PM ^
to start he was hands-off, then only got involved when he tried to replicate what Casteel had done at WVO on his own, clearly not successful at that.
No top-flight DC would want to work for a sub-standard salary, no contract and a coach who was being undermined and shoved out by his own fans/adminnistration. That is how we ended up with GERG....
November 11th, 2011 at 2:32 PM ^
"I think it's going to be a great game," Rodriguez said. "Illinois is playing really well defensively. Michigan, defensively, they've got all the kids back and they're healthier.
I love RR but the reason we are better defensively isn't because the kids are back and they're healthy. It's because we've replaced GERG with someone who has a clue.
November 11th, 2011 at 2:44 PM ^
I've had happy dreams of how our team would be with Rich Rod + The real Greg
November 11th, 2011 at 3:13 PM ^
November 11th, 2011 at 3:35 PM ^
You're right. All of those things definitely help make the defense better but they aren't the main reason. The most obvious reason for improvement is replacing GERG with Mattison and the scheme change that came with that. It's not like I was expecting Rich Rod to admit that though. He's gotta continue to emphasize the positives because his next job might depend on it.
November 11th, 2011 at 4:14 PM ^
November 11th, 2011 at 5:57 PM ^
Rich Rod had nine returning starters in 2008 and a DC, Scott Shafer, who wasn't GERG and who did very well at Syracuse after being fired. The defense was ranked 69th that year, after being ranked 25th in 2007.
Also, Brian looked into how much the team should improve based on returning starters. Based on the number of starters we returned, Michigan should have expected to improve to 82nd in total defense. We are currently 28th in total defense.
Also, the argument with Borges is not just about the number of starters that we returned, but how those starters performed last year.
I'm pretty sure that you can definitively say that the cahnge from GERG to Mattison is a huge part of the reason that this defense is better. Rich Rod is not a good defensive coach without Casteel.
November 11th, 2011 at 7:50 PM ^
You realize that the upperclassmen from that 2008 team were called out for not trying and rebelling against the coach, right? I am sure that had nothing to do with the performance.
And I never said Mattison wasn't a huge part of our defense being better. I said it is silly to proclaim this defense amazing when we haven't played 3 of the best teams we will play all year and the B10 isn't quite like last year as it sucks this year. There are quite a few reasons this defense is much better.
November 11th, 2011 at 10:22 PM ^
I largely agree with your point, but the offenses of Illinois and OSU are ass. They have asses for offenses.
November 12th, 2011 at 1:06 PM ^
and injuries and such, that wa sa defense that was in need of rebuilding
November 11th, 2011 at 5:21 PM ^
....to see Rodriguez on the sidelines again at some point. He would likely build an interesting team that would do pretty well, I think. If nothing else, we should thank him for recruiting one of the single most dynamic athletes in the game right now.