Snide-r predicts a 5-7 season
http://freep.com/article/20090901/SPORTS06/90901008/1054/Mark-Snyder-s-…
There it is: The 5-5 inch weasel with coke bottle glasses says that Michigan starts 0-2 and ends up 5-7. Excuse me while I wipe my ass with this computer monitor.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:09 AM ^
It's a good thing that what he predicts has no bearing on our actual record.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:30 AM ^
Interesting. I'm no gambling man (by any stretch) but I made a gentlemen's wager with a friend. He says we won't be better than 5-7, I said we will. Winner gets a night on the town on the loser's tab.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:41 AM ^
Freep link. Ever.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:54 AM ^
The editors at the Freep don't care that you're angry and certainly don't care about the truth. They only care that you visit their stale site daily so they can sell ad space.
The Detroit News site has already dropped the "scandal" to the Sports section of their site. I don't know where the story lies on the Freep site - made my last visit yesterday. So, I know it's hard to resist reminding yourself just how ignorant the Freep writers are, but, for the love of god, stop feeding their pockets (and egos). Your absence will speak much louder.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:32 AM ^
I agree 1000,000% with what you said. Furthermore, could we have a moritorium on the F*ing bull S* that they write. I don't go to their site for a reason.....I have no F*ing interest in what any of them say so please, stop giving me a play by play on mgoblog! Seriously, I never want to hear what anyone from that paper has to say whether it is good or bad....F* them all!
September 1st, 2009 at 8:27 AM ^
Plus 1,000,000 if I could.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:24 AM ^
If RR is smart, he'll print it out and tape copies to the wall above every urinal and on every crapper door.
The last thing we'd want is for Snyder to predict a winning season; you know he'll preen and talk about how prescient he is.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:38 AM ^
I deleted the freep link from my favorites tab, and will never visit their site again.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:44 AM ^
But 5-7 isn't a crazy prediction. It doesn't display the optimism that fans would prefer, but it's not indicative of bias. Snyder has us losing only one game in which we'll likely be favored - vs WMU on Sat - and, frankly, I'm scared of that game, too. Western has a good quarterback and a dangerous offense, especially through the air; our poor safety play last year combined with the new scheme and the relative inexperience on that side of the ball doesn't make this a great matchup for the opener.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:45 AM ^
co-sign
September 1st, 2009 at 8:55 AM ^
Defensive line play is going to be hugely important vs. WMU. This is sort of a must win.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:56 AM ^
I wrote this article for him, it was about 9 months ago and I spent 14 minutes on it. The hardest part was the formatting.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:56 AM ^
I actually read the article (I know, I know), and it reminded of just how dumb these "season predictions" tend to be. Almost inevitably, the author will say something like "by this game, the defensive line should be hurting and be susceptible to a big game." Really? You know that after 4 weeks of games, guys are going to be hurt and/or out of gas? Apparently being a mediocre sports columnist also means you can see into the future and divine the health and lives of a couple dozen players weeks in advance.
If you are going to say the team will end up 5-7, that's fine. Just don't make up ignorant justifications based on potential injuries or inexperience finally showing up.
I actually agree that this team could go 5-7 if they lose against WMU, but a whole lot can change during a season, and that potential 5-7 record could morph into 8-4 or better if a few breaks happen and this team matures quickly at a few positions.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:22 AM ^
am i the only one whose really liking the fact that we are the underdog and being counted out from the beginning? It is certainly a new concept for UM as of late but i dont think it is necessarily a bad thing. These predictions have no impact on our actual performance. I am not giving much/any weight to "experts" who had this team ranked going into the 2008 season. If that tells us anything, its that these predictions are based more on the previous seasons play than on objective analysis. I think we are being overlooked in facets that make this team far different from last yr. The personelle is different (and those remaining have an additional yr of barwisization), the attitudes are different, and, probably most importantly, the level of experience is different. This team has a chip on its shoulder and i have no doubt that they will hit the ground running. These experts are looking at a lot of teams from a distance. The truth of the matter is they dont know what to expect from guys like tate, stevie brown, troy woolfolk, mike williams, junior hemingway, ryan van bergen, brandon herron, martell webb, mark huyge, vlad emilien, kevin grady, vincent smith, roy rountree, or a healthy donovan warren. Much has changed since last yr, so lets just keep this as our little secret, and well let the rest of the world find out on gameday.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:27 AM ^
I will never read the Free Press again.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:49 AM ^
what was his prediction last year?
September 1st, 2009 at 9:52 AM ^
Well, if we go 5-7, and considering all the negativity surrounding the program and Rod (although majority of it not deserved), I really can't see Rod not getting fired. I'm a 100% behind the guy and want to give him time to get everything into place and let him do his thing, but back-to-back losing seasons, the WVU buyout fiasco, the Freep story, and the transfers may be too much for Rod to overcome. Again, alot of it is not Rod's fault, but Bill Martin will be under tremendous pressure to let Rod go if we have a losing season again combined with all the off the field stuff going on.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:58 AM ^
if we do better than 3-9 this yr, i dont think there is a shot that he gets fired. no one wants to go through the transition process again. the kids that weve recruited these past two yrs are system-specific. grabbing a new coach with a new system only guarantees that we will be 2-3 additional yrs away from regaining our footing while the athletes transition in and out.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:17 PM ^
I'm not sure where the pressure will come from. As Brian has noted before, UM's alumni and AD are pretty hands-off when it comes to the team, and unless there is some widespread defilement of UM's traditions, they don't seem inclined to shake things up on a whim. Go 3-9, then maybe you'll see RR get some heat. But this school, unlike others, has shown an inordinate amount of patience for a major-college program.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:24 PM ^
Bill Martin said he was "all in for Rich Rodriguez". I don't think a 2nd bad season will cause him to fold. There's also the fact that the Freep will look pretty bad by the end of the season for its coverage, so a lot of this won't matter. If we went 4-8 and then this story dropped, then he would go bye bye, but there will be plenty of time to put things in perspective (and not go 4-8).
September 1st, 2009 at 11:43 AM ^
5-7 seems pretty reasonable to me if Sheridan is playing a big role.