Ron Simpkins critical of defense, coaches
Rivals article on Simpkins' take on the team's recent struggles. Interesting opinions from a former player and close follower of the program. Quote regarding the need to try backups out on defense even if they don't grade out ahead of starters in practice:
"I would try someone else to see if they're a gamer because a lot of the kids right now that are playing - I don't care if they're good practice players because they're not getting it done on game day."
http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1014016
November 10th, 2009 at 5:13 PM ^
Joe Mantana was a terrible practice player. Some guys just step up in games. I agree and would def like to see some other guys get in there. It's nice to see that they are at least giving some other guys reps at linebacker to see how they perform. With Brandon Smith's recent move back to safety it will be interesting to see if they give him some plays.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:18 PM ^
... and what the hell is a Man tan(a).
November 10th, 2009 at 5:22 PM ^
was a quarterback you crazy asshole.
(what a great movie....maybe we should try out the towel boy)
November 10th, 2009 at 5:29 PM ^
Obviously didn't get the joke. Must be something wrong with his medulla oblongata.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:10 PM ^
Water sucks. Gatorade is better....
November 10th, 2009 at 8:13 PM ^
it's the thirst mutilator. And it has electrolytes.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:14 PM ^
It's what plants crave!
November 11th, 2009 at 1:09 AM ^
Isn't Joe Mantegna an actor and the voice of Fat Tony D'Amico from The Simpsons?
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001505/
November 10th, 2009 at 5:18 PM ^
it's not like there are lots of guys on the bench who just haven't gotten a shot
November 10th, 2009 at 5:27 PM ^
emilien, the impaler, would disagree.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:06 PM ^
He said "there aren't many" not "there are none".
November 10th, 2009 at 5:31 PM ^
I wonder if the coaches made the point of saying he was still being treated as a safety in the presser yesterday to set the stage for him getting PT in the secondary. Mayhaps yes. Mayhaps no.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:25 PM ^
I know a guy, who knows a guy who thinks the world of RR and one of the reasons is he won't rush a guy into action until he feels said guy is ready. This goes with injuries as well as younger (freshmen and sophs) players.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:41 PM ^
that I've given a +1.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:35 PM ^
I'm not a Rivals member so I can't see the article.
Not that it matters here, but I wonder whether Simpkins is one of the guys in the Les Miles camp?
November 10th, 2009 at 5:43 PM ^
He doesn't sound thrilled with RR, but does say (somewhat begrudgingly): "He's our coach and it's my responsibility as a fan to cheer for him and give him my full support."
November 10th, 2009 at 6:09 PM ^
He is/was not in Les Miles' camp.
As it turns out, Les Miles really missed the boat on that one.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:18 PM ^
If he were a poster here, he'd certainly have somewhere in the neighborhood of -260 points for having the audacity to suggest that RR is not a very patient version of the second coming.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:51 PM ^
Jesus, are you still here? In my view, the only thing worse than being a fatuous douchebag on this site is making oblique and whiny references to your poor treatment.
You brought what you had and people weren't into it. Now either play nice or stop coming here. It shouldn't be hard for you to manage that either, Mr. Two Days.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:42 PM ^
I'm pretty sweet, but I'm not Jesus.
Nothing oblique or whiny about my treatment. I got piled on by a bunch of shut-ins for suggesting that RR was doing a bad job. Sorry to bring common sense to the party. If I knew that I needed to bring a light saber and a 42-sided die, I would've stayed home...loser.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:09 PM ^
Ah, the tried and true: "Call people nerds for posting on an online forum...by posting on an online forum." Classic.
What's engendering the dislike of you, dahblue, isn't your opinion, but your near-constant bitching for two days ABOUT your treatment.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:41 PM ^
One of my favorite Wolverines all-time and the best LB ever at Michigan hands down. His helmet was freaking covered with Wolverine helmet awards. And the guy did most of his damage as a solo artist.
At this point everyone is entitled to criticize RR's CEO level decision-making and Greg Robinson's own defensive strategy. It's deserved.
Of course the problem with general criticism like Mr. Simpkins' above is that it's next to worthless. Why? Because we have 10 games under the belt. Specificity is now in order.
Right now Ezeh and Mouton are Michigan MLBs. What viable options (Leach? Herron? Fitzgerald? Brandon Smith?, K. Demens?, I. Bell?) does Mr. Simpkins believe have already presented themselves as "gamers" for gameday, but Robinson has either maliciously ignored, or has decided to store away until 2010 like some perverse squirrel?
At safety the situation is so dire and well known by everyone since way back in April. There's Kovacs, Williams, Emilien and Van Slyke. Then your ship sails off the edge of the earth. Oh sure, there's the trendy musical chairs riff going on at CB (Woolfolk, Floyd) as the coaches try to shore up the safety position, only to create more problems at corner again.
My observation is far from perfect here, but after 10 games it seems to me like GERG has given a lot of both experienced and young players an opportunity to start and secure their spots.
I won't pretend to know all that's going on in practice, if viable options blossomed one day, it's reasonable to expect GERG and his staff to have pounced on it.
It's not the same as with Ron Simpkins' era (1976-1979). If Simpkins got injured or inexplicably kept plugging the wrong gaps, Bill McCartney had options. Those options consisted of players like OLB/P John Anderson, Mel Owens, Jerry Meter, Andy Cannavino, Ben Needham, Tom Seabron and Robert Thompson. These are not run of the mill guys either. They had skills and most ended up on the All-Big Ten list at some stage.
I'm not trying to be a dick, but help me understand just where in the hell the corresponding replacements are for Mouton and Ezeh, as just one example (the easiest one)?
November 10th, 2009 at 6:52 PM ^
I can't speak for Simpkins, but I think there is an interesting argument here: at this point, given how poorly our secondary has played, does it make sense to just take a chance on a heretofore non-game-tested guy (e.g., Emilien, B. Smith, Jones, Turner, Bell) to see if he can be a functional game-time player?
Not to trash the kid, but Williams has been so bad the past few games that to be an improvement, you'd really just need to play a very conservative, basically fundamental brand of safety. Sure, the likelihood is that none of the aforementioned guys are better than Williams, but how much do we stand to lose by experimenting?
[Edit: more directly to your point about the LBs, you might wonder the same thing about Demens, Hawthorne, B. Smith, and Bell]
November 10th, 2009 at 7:17 PM ^
The Sack Man!
November 10th, 2009 at 9:18 PM ^
Didn't Ezeh and Mouton get benched this Saturday in favor of two sophomores (one of whom is a walk-on), or did I miss something? Seems like Gerg rolled the dice just like Simpkins and others have suggested and low-and-behold the defense still isn't very good.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:39 PM ^
I think this validates Simpkins' point, though. If you agree that Fitzgerald actually played better than Mouton has been playing (and RR's comments in the presser yesterday suggests this--we'll see what the UFR says), then GERG experimented with a relatively untested guy and it worked. Two weeks ago most people were saying "if Fitzgerald were any good, he'd be playing", "the coaches know best", etc. Maybe he graded out better than Mouton in practice last week for the first time this year, but more likely is that GERG need to try something, anything to improve our LB play. It looks like it kind of worked for one game. (Now about that secondary...).
November 10th, 2009 at 9:52 PM ^
My view is that it may have been more about "is Fitzgerald ready to play" than "is Fitzgerald good enough to play" (though I'm sure people, probably myself included, phrased it as the latter). I think it is just as likely that Fitzgerald has gotten better in practice as the year went on as it is that Gerg just said "Fuck it, what do we have to lose?" and threw him out there. Fitzgerald is also a RS sophomore whereas the guys who would get tossed out there at safety are true freshmen.
I guess my point, to the extent I have one, is that the defense just isn't going to be good this year no matter what the coaches do (there are just too many holes) so second-guessing how they decide to make the best of a bad situation just seems like a waste of effort to me. I'll start to worry about what they're doing in a year or two when they are actually getting to decide which scholarship players sees the field and how best to use them.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:54 PM ^
Do it like a raffle and just have some student come out and play safety. It couldn't hurt.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:05 PM ^
to play safety, that'd be pretty cool.
Of course, this means that Michigan's No. 6 safety is about to embark on a career that will put Charles Woodson's illustrious work to shame.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:34 PM ^
DahBlue-I am impressed that you have reached -261 in ess than one day on the board. I wish I had seen the post that got you there. Must have been a beauty.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:47 PM ^
You aren't kidding. I replied to the story Brian posted about RR deserving more time. Looked like 99% of the replies were pro-RR, and I wrote that I had supported RR up until last week, but this season's regression is intolerable...time to move on from RR...etc. My first post was very tame. After a while, I got tired of being called "douchebag", "idiot" and (worst of all to this UofM alum) "spartan". Anyway, I got crushed for it.
For that terrible offense, I might have set a record. Who knows?
November 10th, 2009 at 8:03 PM ^
First of all, w/r/t record-setting negbangs, I know the Barking Sphincter. I served in 'Nam with the Barking Sphincter. And you sir, are no Barking Sphincter.
Second, I guarantee you that if you had presented your anti-RR case in a respectful, logical way, you wouldn't have been negbanged. Here's just a taste of your first post, though:
I don't believe RR needs another year to prove anything. He's proven that he doesn't understand the greatest program in the history of the game.Tame, yes. But also douchey. And nonsensical. And ad hominem. And a bunch of other stuff that, if you weren't Mr. Two Days, you'd understand about this site.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:49 PM ^
Really? That comment deserved -260 points? Are you that much of a tool? Are all of your action figures still preserved in their original packaging? Does your mom dust them?
You know what, dungeon-master, any coach who approves Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" (or that techno garbage) being piped-in during a Michigan game does not understand the greatest program in the history of the game. I grew up listening to The Victors at Michigan games, not "Jock Jams 12".
The only thing I understand about this site is that there is amazing content...and then the message boards where there seem to be some fun folk with interesting viewpoints...and then other folks like you, a bitch who takes personal offense at absolutely nothing.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:55 PM ^
...calling someone a "bitch" probably isn't going to earn any brownie points.
Also, I'm sure Rich Rodriguez would love a seminar on "understanding the program" from someone like you. You clearly have a much better handle on Michigan's football program than he does.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:10 PM ^
Call me a douche...I return in my own style.
I have no need for points, brownie or otherwise. I've only posted on here for one day because I have a life. I just felt compelled to reply to all the we-love-RR posts.
Frankly, much like William Clay Ford should learn about his Lions from the people of Detroit, it might do RR some good to look over his record of ruin and understand what he's done to a program that he previously knew little about. When I was a little kid, pretending to be Anthony Carter, playing football in the street, RR couldn't have cared less about UofM. It doesn't bother me that he didn't grow up with an interest in Michigan...but hell, an apology for this trail of tears would go a long way to ease the frustration of those who have cared their entire lives.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:26 PM ^
"but hell, an apology for this trail of tears would go a long way to ease the frustration of those who have cared their entire lives."
I'm not sure that I've ever heard a coach apologize for not having a good team. And if one ever did, that would probably seem more like a white flag than anything else.
Since you spoke of sensitive people, though, maybe you should look in the mirror. You're the one who needs to be apologized to when he and his players are the ones working their asses off to fix it? Yeah...you don't need an apology. You just need something to complain about.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:41 PM ^
RR doesn't need to apologize for lack of talent...that's an excuse, not an apology. I do believe he apologized with the #1 jersey goof. That was his mistake and he corrected it.
As for white flags...did you see the Illinois game? How about what Purdue did to us? The flag's been waiving for a couple weeks now.
I don't need anything to complain about (ok...seeing all the Kool-Aid drinkers is frustrating); I just need to see better effort on the field, players who don't look lost, leaders. It's not there.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:43 PM ^
So what do you want him to apologize for? You're not making any sense.
Don't give me that bullshit about the flag waving against Illinois and Purdue. You think he didn't want to win those games? Get that weak shit outta here.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:39 PM ^
For a guy with such a great life, you seem to have posted a ton of comments in your brief time on this site. You have also made an impressive number of references to nerdy activities. So many in fact, that it seems you must have frighteningly extensive first-hand knowledge of this world you speak of.
But on to your idiotic point. When I was growing up I too couldn't have cared less about Michigan, either academically or athletically. When deciding where to go to college, however, I was lucky enough to be admitted to one of the finest academic institutions in the world and fell in love with "this Michigan of ours" when I first got the opportunity to visit Ann Arbor. I have only been a fan (and a very vocal/passionate one at that) since I enrolled at UM. However, I am positive that I am a thousand times better fan than a whiny bitch like you whose loyalty to this school and this team is so easily swayed, no matter how long you have played dress-up in Maize and Blue.
If you are just too dumb or too lazy to understand why the team has struggled the last two years, that is fine. Your ignorance or idiocy has been made abundantly clear to you by the reaction of this blog's readers to your ridiculous comments. Maybe you will take action to remedy that, maybe you won't.
However, men like Bo, Yost, and too many amazing student-athletes to mention were not Michigan fans growing up like you were. Each and every one of them, Rich Rodriguez included, has done more work for this university than you could ever hope to accomplish in a lifetime. For someone like you (who has never competed in anything besides imaginary football) to demand an apology from any of them is laughable. They owe you nothing. You owe them your loyalty and support, in good times as well as bad, if you want to call yourself a Michigan fan. If you can't do that, then shut the fuck up and go cheer for another team.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:55 PM ^
This whiny bitch is a guy you'd love to be...maybe not in your never-never land, but in real life. I'd love to compare trophies and medals, but I don't live in my mom's basement sleeping under an array of ribbons and the like.
Keep your head in the sand, and follow like a blind sheep. When someone fucks your girlfriend; ask if she was good (oh damn, that was funny...we all know you don't have a girlfriend or, even if you did, your certainly lack the basis for any comparison as to quality). When someone steals your lunch money; check to see if their meal was tasty and delicious. You, my fat little friend, are the reason that maize is now neon; why techno is played instead of the marching band; why those student t-shirts are so fucking ugly. You'll accept anything because you don't know any better.
When you grow up, you'll know that it's ok to fight for something better. You'll understand that it's ok to criticize the team/school you love because you know it can be better. Blind patriotism is not patriotism at all. It's just sad.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:57 PM ^
Troll.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:15 PM ^
I nail models on the reg and I fly around in my private jet flexing my six-pack abs and building hotels on Boardwalk AND Park Place in real life. I never won anything in sports, but I swear if coach had put me in fourth quarter we'd have won state. No doubt in my mind, because I can throw a football over them mountains.
What are you fucking five? Get banned, dick-breath.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:12 AM ^
Very sad that someone with nothing but a mouth and a keyboard would want to silence someone. You talk shit about me...you better have the nerve to take what comes back at you.
When you leave the world of make-believe, you'll find that a large number of very smart, well-rounded people believe, for very justified reasons, that RR is doing harm to a program that we love. You clearly don't get it, but questioning the program you love is the ultimate sign of respect for it. Blindly approving of anything maize and blue is shameful.
P.S. The only models you nail are small, made of plastic and are attached to a fake battlefield.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:13 PM ^
re: "trail of tears":
Yes, Michigan's two seasons certainly merit comparison to the forced death-march (with Malarial blankets!) of thousands of Native Americans. That's a reasonable way to look at things.
dahblue, meet perspective. Perspective, meet dahblue.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:04 AM ^
It's odd that a guy with a Castro icon would have a difficult time grasping hyperbole.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:30 AM ^
I have no problem grasping hyperbole. A hyperbolic statement could be "Rich Rodrgiguez is the worst coach ever."
But when you compare something relatively trivial - a lack of success in football - to the US government forcibly moving the Indian population under threat of death from their homes, and consequently killing approximately 20,000 of them, it's not only a really forced, ham-handed metaphor (did Rodriguez force an impossible choice on anyone?) that has really nothing applicable to the situation you're describing, but the comparison of the Trail of Tears to a poor showing in football cheapens the meaning of what was done. It's why you don't call every asshole you meet "Hitler".
November 11th, 2009 at 12:37 PM ^
The Trail of Tears was one of the most egregious violations of human rights and cultural identity in American history
I think it's a little more important than some dude's coaching record that doesn't meet your arbitrary standards
November 10th, 2009 at 9:39 PM ^
Of course that comment didn't deserve -260. Nor did it get -260. It just got you off on the wrong foot and then it all started to snowball. Nor did I take personal offense at it or anything else you said, including your calling me a bitch and a light saber-wielding, action figure-dusting dungeon master. I am, in fact, all of those things. I am a light saber-wielding, action figure-dusting dungeon master bitch. Have been for the last 37 years, and proudly so.
But that's neither here nor there, is it? Believe me, no one is giddy about the team's performance this year. But that's not the same thing as saying RichRod doesn't know what he's doing and needs to be fired. That's what all the objections to your posts were about, not that you expressed doubt.