This team is soft.
There’s no denying it, this team is soft. What is causing it? Is Michigan football back to the country club attitude of the early 2000s? (Don’t laugh) School first attitude? These overseas trips? Harbaugh not being fiery enough anymore? What happened to the coach that was cussing Wilton out telling him to transfer, or the coach blowing up on officials on the sideline?
As I think back I remember umbig11 saying things like ”Harbaugh is coaching toohard during bowl week, it has the parents questioning him” “players are getting hurt because he’s practicing too hard” even some of the fans ask that question “why are players getting hurt during practice” Fuck that, Michigan might not of went to the CFB those years but at least the team showed some grit, at least he didn’t act like a damn robot on the sidelines. Jim needs to get back to his roots, keep the offense, but get back to your roots Jim, teach these young men to be hard nose football players, this country club or millennial style football shit isn’t working.
I said my peace, y’all have a good night
September 21st, 2019 at 4:43 PM ^
Jeebus. This fanbase is soft.
If you were a fan in the 80's you saw brutal losses under Bo.
We didn't have the internet to immediately complain and seek the reassurance of a similarly salty mass.
You could only go back to your tailgate and drink it away.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:49 PM ^
I’m older, and yes the team under bo took bad losses indeed. Doesn’t matter, Bo’s teams were a hell of a lot tougher than this one. I’m not one to expect perfect seasons every year, this is about mental toughness of the team, you can see it on their faces and body language.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:55 PM ^
You can see it on their face ? Please. You would have said the same thing when Bo lost to Inferior teams. If the internet existed when Bo coached, he would have been heavily criticized at times.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:59 PM ^
It took Bo a decade of bowl losses to figure out that the option offense wasn't going to beat Pag 8 teams fueled by steroids. He finally built a two dimensional offense with Wangler and Carter and good RBs. That was his biggest flaw.
September 21st, 2019 at 5:04 PM ^
You sound ridiculous, I won’t throw my weight around, but let me say this, this is one of few things. A. The players aren’t good B. Coaching is not good C. The mental toughness isn’t there. As humans you can only get punched in the mouth so many times before you punch back, this team was punched in the mouth several times by inferior teams (MTsU ARMY) and did little To fight back. A lucky break vs Army has Michigan at 2-1 not 1-2.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:57 PM ^
The one Bo team that seemed soft was the 84 bunch that ended 6-6. No leadership. Of course, the team bounced back in 85 (my senior year) to go 10-1-1 and #2. But the leadership from guys like Mike Mallory, Mike Hammerstein, etc. happened during the OFFSEASON first and then carried over to the season.
The last time I saw a sorry bunch start the season and recover was 1998, but Jon Jansen and a few others got into a fight in practice and that seemed to spark the team to finish strong.
September 21st, 2019 at 6:06 PM ^
The ONLY bad loss in the 80s was 26-0 vs. Iowa. Other than that, Bo's team was in every game.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:43 PM ^
I'm here for the hot takes... (aka shitposts)....
September 21st, 2019 at 4:47 PM ^
If they are soft, it's a byproduct of how they're being coached and led. Don't blame the players for the shitshow you saw today. I know you're not, just a general message to the fanbase.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:51 PM ^
I’m not blaming the players, it’s the coaches who make the culture of the team.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:51 PM ^
You’re soft.
September 21st, 2019 at 6:23 PM ^
Maybe he is but he's right. How do go out and get your ass beat by a team with less talent? Down 35-0 in the 3rd qtr - that is fucking pathetic and fucking unacceptable.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:52 PM ^
Stop blaming the unpaid players. Blame the millionaires that were supposed to prepare them over the course of TWO FUCKING WEEKS
September 21st, 2019 at 4:57 PM ^
Did you read what I posted, I’m blaming the coaches. They set the tone for the program.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:57 PM ^
It’s the PLAYERS AND COACHES. When Ben Mason fumbled on the first possession, as we looked like we would score, that’s on him. It clearly both coaches and players that have to improve.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:53 PM ^
Hated watching defensive players tackling by falling on players rather than hitting and wrapping. It was hard to watch.
Soft seems a little harsh, but technique and playing in position was a problem.
September 21st, 2019 at 4:53 PM ^
It’s the Downy being used on the uniforms
September 21st, 2019 at 4:56 PM ^
Does Wisky (and OSU) continue crossing routes with success? How does UM change this because even MooU will do the same. btw, I don't Bo even losing games like these .. 3 losses in 5 games?
September 21st, 2019 at 4:59 PM ^
I thought they were soft throughout the 3rd quarter. Looked like they'd given up.
Incredibly impressed by the perseverance of a few players though (namely DPJ, Tarik, Collins, few players on defense). Can't be easy to keep at it when the game is completely lost.
We were just completely out coached and out played.
September 21st, 2019 at 6:09 PM ^
Yeah, I don’t agree on the physically soft thing necessarily. Where I see them soft is in the mental aspect of the game.
For the past 5 or 6 games—maybe as far back as the 2017 season—it just seemed to me that a lot of time, THE INSTANT some bad momentum happened to them, big sections of the team just seemed to mentally go into the fetal position.
2017 Peters Thunder Sack, shitting the bed against South Carolina, and 2019 Army are some. Today’s sequence of the Mason fumble, blown 4th down completion by Wisconsin, and the utterly bullshit incomplete Ronnie Bell catch, etc. even isolated players like Black having a meltdown on his called back touchdown in the Peach Bowl and LeVert Hill being unable to shake his dropped INT against MTSU come to mind.
For whatever reason, the roster generally and players individually seem to be unable to compartmentalize and out bad plays/bad developments behind them. As a result, bad events tend to snowball into worse events.
I don’t know if that can be coached or I’d its an innate thing that people just *have*. But I think it’s at least part of the issue we have seen over the past 12-18 months.
September 21st, 2019 at 5:03 PM ^
next year pre season 8 and it can start all over again
September 21st, 2019 at 5:04 PM ^
bring in all the sucker $$$$ on hype
lemmings
feed the kitty to be served spoonfulls of sh!t, then make excuses for eating it.
hahahahah
September 21st, 2019 at 5:05 PM ^
crootin
September 21st, 2019 at 5:07 PM ^
Yes, the players are soft because of that damn school thing gets in the way of not having football on the mind 24/7. Why do you think all NFL teams are so good all the time? No school.
Please don't blame the oversea trips.
September 21st, 2019 at 5:09 PM ^
This was a repeat of ND last year, over before it began, beaten in preparation.
Something is off with the chemistry of this coaching staff or team. They don’t have fire, or effort, or details. I can’t even tell if they like each other.
September 21st, 2019 at 5:17 PM ^
The program is soft . It starts at the very top. If you want a tough hard nosed football team....then you recruit tough hard nosed football players . I don't want to call out individual players....but if you played football and understAnd the game.....then you know that this program has soft players . Give me Iowa tough....give me Wisconsin tough....give me MSU tough.... If you want Michigan to be a National power of a program......its a man's game and we are giving our asses up.
September 21st, 2019 at 5:18 PM ^
I’d say the fans are soft
September 21st, 2019 at 5:22 PM ^
I'd say you are an idiot. That it would be a waste of time trying to explain football to you.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:20 PM ^
Good, because you're an idiot and nobody cares.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:21 PM ^
If you're referring to people like the OP, then I agree with you.
September 21st, 2019 at 5:20 PM ^
Michigan is the guy that likes that shiny new silver dollar. Give me the roughed up nickels and dimes. That's what football is about.
September 21st, 2019 at 5:26 PM ^
The only thing soft around here is your skull. The real question is where does this team go from here. That’ll tell us more about such things than your percolations.?
September 21st, 2019 at 6:21 PM ^
Quit taking stupid trips around the world and get in the weight room. This team gets pushed around on both sides of the line and the qb has a weak arm.
September 21st, 2019 at 6:52 PM ^
This team is soft, they also don’t really like JH! I’ve come to know quite a few players over the past few years including one in the NFL. He’s weird, kinda distant and does make them do really hard stuff at odd times. The concerns from parents about how hard they practice is real. The ream was beat to shit for 3 weeks before the bowl game last year, they gave up on him. The man is stubborn and way out of his league. This is a shit show that is on the verge of collapse . BTW i sat within a few feet of Mrs Harbaugh today I think you can see the pressure on her too, the Titanic is sinking people! The Ben Mason thing today might have been the most idiotic move I’ve seen in 35 years of Michigan football. The guy literally hasn’t played a snap of offense this year including camp!
September 21st, 2019 at 9:01 PM ^
Just wondering, how'd you get to know those players?
September 21st, 2019 at 7:19 PM ^
Oh, piss off. You want to say there's no leadership or bad coaching, or they exploited some of our weaknesses, fine. But there's nothing softer than a grown man watching elite athletes strap it up and run at each other full tilt just to dismiss them as "soft" from his fucking sofa with cheetoh dust on his goddamn fingers. I'm so fucking sick of this take.
It reminds me of that scene in The Wire where one of Cutty's boxing students calls another boxer soft. Cutty says anyone who steps in that ring is a man. Damn straight.
If you can't step on that field, and never could, or never will, you've got no right to say they're soft, and I just don't respect you for saying some arrogant pouty shit like that.
This fucking fanbase, sometimes. You want to get your way but you don't want to support the players. At least have the decency to put this in a snowflake thread, you petty attention whore.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:55 PM ^
I love Michigan Football as much as anyone on this planet , this team is soft. They are slowly giving up on the coaches. If you can’t see that you blind! Hopefully a flip is switched of Michigan State is going to crush them, talent is there something is missing big time. It’s not the players fault.
September 21st, 2019 at 8:56 PM ^
Look, fair enough, but what pisses me off is that for so many fans, "soft" is just the pc way of calling this or that player a pussy. And that's such armchair qb bs!!! I think we're saying the same thing and seeing the same thing. The team is unprepared and not playing with any swagger. It sucks to watch, bc the love for the team is real.
September 22nd, 2019 at 3:53 AM ^
Fuck you too, unwitting snowflake
September 21st, 2019 at 7:48 PM ^
Until proven otherwise
September 21st, 2019 at 10:07 PM ^
I think this team is mentally soft. They have no perseverance.....if one thing goes wrong there is a cascade of mistakes to follow.
September 22nd, 2019 at 6:11 AM ^
Your armchair is soft. Go get a coaching job.