Sam Webb on the Cover 3 Podcast
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3duVn2PmpSLcxe65xjYAyX?si=aa4f6140bdb94932
Today was a day for the ongoing team preview series.
If you listened, what do you agree with? Disagreements?
*Today was our day.
Holy shit we are getting close to practices aren't we? That snuck up on me
There's been a shit ton of sports on so that may have helped. Baseball, NBA and NHL playoffs, euros, Wimbledon, French open before that, copa América, gold cup now.
COVID inadvertently made this the most enjoyable summer of sports in some time. Hockey, basketball and more all playing well into July.
Add in the olympics, and I will be able to go an entire summer without having to watch baseball to get my live sports fix.
Not trying to be a jerk, but you might promote more discussion if you provide a few bullet points about the content of the podcast.
Logged in to post the same thing.
Well bluebrains, you've dashed my dreams of MGoBlog glory. But point taken.
You know...the opportunity is still there. I assume there were some interesting things said or you wouldn't have posted. Care to enlighten those of us who don't have time to listen to the whole podcast?
MWolverine1 does a good summary below.
A few things
1. Mentioned that Trente Jones struggled with Warinner's coaching but had a great spring with Moore. This isn't the first time someone's mentioned that Warinner just didn't connect with the inexperienced guys.
2. I hadn't heard Sam say this before but there's some truth to it, the lionshare of stars on defense in the Don Brown era were guys that he inherited. Once the direction for recruiting fell under him, things started to decline.
3. Unless I missed something, there was a conspicuous absence of talk about Gattis' scheme to date.
Unless I missed something, there was a conspicuous absence of talk about Gattis' scheme to date.
What scheme??
HA, I jest.....sort of
Mentioned that Trente Jones struggled with Warinner's coaching but had a great spring with Moore.
This is what drives me nuts. I thought simplicity was one of Warinner's strengths. It seems like everyone talked about how Drevno was too complicated, but that Warinner really made things easy to understand. Hopefully third time's a charm with Moore.
People learn differently but I am glad Jones is learning better under Moore.
“Simplicity” can mean a lot of things though. If we’re talking about taking a veteran line and simplifying so they can anchor down and do their job, simplicity can be great. Now of you’re talking about bringing in raw young talent that needs to be taught and molded, “simplicity” might not cut it. These are guys that need to be taught techniques and concepts to build their game and depending on what “simplicity” actually entails, it might not mesh.
Unlike some on this board, I have no direct insider knowledge. I agree with what you wrote and was surprised when Warinner left because I really felt he turned what was a weakness into a team strength. Still after he left, I kept reading tidbits from a bunch of places mentioning things like Moore is more approachable and is more of a question and answer sort of guy while Warinner was more of a drill sergeant sort of way.
I could really be 100% wrong but those were the impressions I was reading.
I really felt he turned what was a weakness into a team strength.
He took a confused group and organized them, but I've always disagreed with the "strength" assessment. They were no longer Drevno levels of just gaffs and missed assignments, but they weren't top 5 or anything to that level. Even Drevno and Pep could coach/scheme up a game here and there where they would just bulldoze teams.
Even after the PSU game in 2019 when they turned it around, they weren't particularly good on the ground. They had 5 NFL draft picks on that line, 4 upperclassmen, and they would constantly run into piles for 2-3 yards. They'd pop a big one now and again to drag the YPC numbers up, but generally it was inconsistent and rarely did they go nose to nose with teams and just overwhelm them. Now, is that more due to scheme or coaching, I'm not sure. However, last year they had their pick of a starting 5 for the first 2 games and still had massive problems on the ground. Guys getting cut down 3 yards behind the LOS, running the ball into the backs of the OL a yard downfield, etc. The starters all played almost the whole MSU game and were objectively average on the ground.
All of that is to say, Warinner did a good job stabilizing the position group, but they peaked in 2019 and that peak wasn't significantly impressive.
Thanks.
Hey, I read this good book. Thought it might be fun to discuss. Let me know what you think. /s
bullet points are helpful and actually make you want to listen to the podcast if there is something interesting.
You don't say!
Or...
You didn't say.
You know, I didn't make a great post and I own that. Bluebrains response was the nicest "do better" possible.
WestQuad, your post was incredibly dickish after the point had been made.
Lighten up, Francis. He was making a joke. No one was being a dick, it's OK to take some constructive criticism.
I have a twist on that phrase... and say " relax, Roberta"
the /s is for sarcasm. I tried to use it to telegraph that I was teasing you. No harm intended. I appreciate that you are attempting to post top level content. I've posted uninformative and Keith Jackson-esque material before and lost many precious MGoPoints. It's the risk you take seeking anonymous internet glory.
This has been an ongoing issue, and a growing one, as well. Not everybody can watch a video or listen to a podcast while at work. Yeah, we can check a website for a few comments every now and then, but full on watching/listening to videos and podcasts will get most people fired. Quickly. A few bullets about the highlights would work wonders...
I thought the part where Sam was talking about what an 8-4 record would mean for Michigan and he said "is it an 8-4 with a win over Ohio State?" was pure cringe. No, Sam. It's not 8-4 with a win over Ohio State. Nobody is framing this question around the idea of an unusual season like that. They're asking the question "if Michigan has the kind of 8-4 season we expect Michigan to have..."
I guess there's an argument to be made that they keep him if its 8 wins with one of them being over MSU.
But yeah if they go 8-4 then 100 percent one of those losses are OSU
If they go 8-4, I win $100 so there's that.
(clarification: 8-4 or better. I put $100 on us going over 7.5 regular season wins)
RIP to that hundo my friend.
I would agree, unfortunately and I take no pleasure in believing, that your $100 is gone. I don't see how we get 8 wins.
It would take positive QB performance that is totally unproven (possible, but unproven and unseen in consistent game to game performance), and cornerback play that will have to be greatly improved upon.
I bet you $100 for charity that Michigan wins 8 games this year. Do you take the bet?
Lets do this thing. Dude if we win 8,9, or 10 games ill be ecstatic! Im so sick of our offensive coaching and 8 or more wins means we have at least mostly fixed it. Harbaugh is our quickest path to getting to where we need to be but Ill be honest Ive lost faith. Ill pay $100 to restore it or $100 to a great charity of my choosing. Win win my friend!
I'll say Mott Children's for mine.
I mean Rutgers fielded the best defense in the country in 2021 and Cade shredded it so this bet should be a layup.
Sorry, couldn't help it. For the record, I'm on your side in this bet.
We run quarterly fundraisers through our virtual whiskey tastings. I am at $10k for Leukemia and 2 local homeless families. Ill leave it open to see where we are helping at the time. For any whiskey drinkers let me know if anyone would like to join. Really good time.
It's just funny because if somebody were actually asking the question "what happens if Michigan wins 8 games but one of those 8 is against Ohio State?" then the answer is obviously an emphatic "Harbaugh and staff would be back the next year" but it's obviously not the question being asked and Sam is just dodging having to answer a tough hypothetical.
Harbaugh could literally win 6 games next year, but if one of them is OSU, he would absolutely be back.
I'm sorry, but IMHO 8-4 is pretty fucking pathetic!
The Harbaugh apologists want to keep saying last year was an aberration due to covid - which of course only affected us, but I digress. So if we agree that it was an aberration and pretend 2020 didn't happen, then how is 8-4 in his 7th, or 6th year if 2020 doesn't count, considered acceptable?
Hate to break it to you, friend, but 8-4 seems optimistic.
I guess I'm what you might call a Harbaugh apologist.
I haven't heard anyone deny that Covid affected all teams. The problem with Michigan was the combination of (1) lack of practice due to Covid, (2) very few players with returning experience, and (3) important opt-outs. All teams faced #1, but the interactive effect with #2 and #3 created the perfect storm of a shitty season.
I think the only thing that makes 8-4 acceptable are the defensive changes/adjustments. I completely expect the offense to be a strength of the team. If that's the case, and the losses can be chalked-up to defensive problems that will be corrected by year 2 under the new staff (i.e., showing improvements over the season), then 8-4 would be understandable. If, on the other hand, the offense still looks lost, slow, not explosive, etc., then at least this Harbaugh apologist would be willing to accept the need for a change at the top.
To piggyback off of what you posted, it wasn't just "very few players with returning experience" it is where that inexperience was.
Coming off 2019, the staff put 4/5th of the offensive line into the NFL. Gone was any QB with not only no starting experience but any real game experience. Does anyone really think that Michigan would have gone 2-4 last season with the 2019 O-Line and Patterson at QB? Toss in Thomas on defense and Collins on offense and still believe they are 2-4?
Everyone goes through lower classman to upper classman cycles but losing the spring practice as well as the Covid restrictions disproportionally affected Michigan as opposed to other B1G teams because of where Michigan was breaking in brand new starters.
If a 6-7 Purdue team can beat #2 OSU or an 8-5 Iowa team can beat #3 OSU, the notion that it's literally impossible for an 8-4 Michigan team to do the same thing is silly. Unlikely yes, but not impossible.
Difference is OSU don't get up for that game as opposed to Michigan where they have their eyes on them all year long and won't play down to them. It's not impossible but it makes it very difficult for Michigan to beat OSU.
Nonsense. We now have a strong QB. And they late breaking in a new one. They ripe for a loss and we are gonna win.
Where have I heard this before...
While Cade looked good against Rutgers, it was Rutgers. There’s not a whole lot to go on with him so it’s pretty hard to sit there and say our QB is “strong.”
And OSU breaks in a new QB every other year and they all dominate us. We got torn to shreds by their third string QB a few years ago.
So while it’s not out of the realm of possibility, it’s pretty hard to sit here and feel confident with the QB situations. And as mentioned, OSU doesn’t play Purdue or Iowa with the same focus and intensity that they do Michigan. They don’t have countdown clocks and shrines dedicated to Purdue or Iowa. OSU will NEVER overlook Michigan like they would Purdue or Iowa. For Michigan to beat OSU, we have to outplay and outcoach them with inferior talent (in both aspects). We won’t catch OSU off guard or looking ahead.
By the numbers, you are correct-simple logic. We, however, are that team up north. It's a special game that the Buckeyes point towards, so we can't fly under the radar that Purdue and Iowa did. This goes back to Bo vs Woody or Tressel's revision when he made that promise in his opening presser.
It's not impossible but Michigan needs that same revision and culture that Jim Tressel gave the Buckeyes. Maybe it could happen this year given the addition of Mike Hart and Ron Bellomy (sp).
I would add in that it would feasibly be possible to upset OSU even though they are always ready for us if we lost every year in close games. But no, in the last 20 years we have kept it close (single digit losses) in only 8 games and haven't had a single digit loss since 2016. The last 2 games looked like we did not belong on the same field and OSU has not slipped at all so I would not expect any possibility of pulling off an upset.
Michigan is still trying to find its identity, what it can do well, trying to put a defense back together and hoping one of our QB's blossoms. OSU know who they are, they know what they want to do and they will successfully do it against the UM squad. I wish the results would be different but reality is that its very unlikely to change course.
Took a listen. It was pretty straightforward. Sam did a good job of running down the roster and highlighting our strengths and weaknesses. The focus was on the lines and the passing game, so I'm not sure the running backs or linebackers were mentioned at all. Big takeaways:
- Opt outs/injuries a big reason for 2020. But there was enough shown bad that you can't completely write it off
- Still expecting McNamara to start, but McCarthy has the higher ceiling and could challenge midway through the season. No mention of Bowman
- Cornelius Johnson is the pick to step up and be a game changer at the WR position. Henning and Wilson should add a different dimension as well. WRs should be experienced and dependable
- Expecting big things from Zak Zinter up front. Hayes drew a mention and Trente Jones was mentioned as a riser with the coaching change. Sam indicated the change to Moore had to do with how unprepared the young OL were last year
- NT is a huge question mark. Expecting Mazi Smith to take over with Jordan Whittley backing him up. Whittley might be too big, Smith maybe not big enough
- A pass rusher has to emerge other than Hutchinson or he will get keyed on
- More confidence in the secondary than you might expect because of Dax. If corner is an issue, we could move Dax to corner and fill in ably at safety
- Overall, the Vegas line of 8-4 seems reasonable and didn't receive push back. The key to Harbaugh maintaining his position will be the how: can't get blown out or get upset. But Sam doesn't think they will make a change next year based on Harbaugh's off-season comments