A Voice of Reason (Hopefully) for why to NOT Give Up on This Team
I stayed away from this board for the last 24 hours in order to sober up a little bit and let yesterday set in.
I come here and I see threads saying "What to do about Denard's TOs?" and "Anti-RR Sentiment" and frankly, I'm a little shocked.
Yes, we lost the game. Badly. 7-0 vanished quickly and we didn't have a chance in the third quarter. I'll be honest though - it was a lot easier to take a blowout loss than the close losses at MSU and Iowa. Did our team regress a little? Yes. But don't worry, the sky is not falling.
1) It's hard to call out a team that finished 3-9 last year, and beyond a terrible collapse, will make a bowl game this year. People forget last season all too quickly.
2) We're a better team this year because we have more players that fit the system. Imagine what a couple more years will do for our team as RR gets more HS kids to commit to the program.
3) We're a team filled with freshman and sophomore starters. Sure, losing Warren and BG won't help us any, and Stevie Brown has pulled a total 180 this year. But, the majority of our other "stars" are freshman and sophomores.
I've said this before and I'll say it again - most everyone on this board had us pegged at 6-6 or 7-5 before this season began and I'd venture to guess the WORST they had us at after the first 8 games was 4-4 (losses to ND, MSU, PSU, and Iowa), while the best was 6-2. So the fact that we are 5-3 is something to be down about? Come on people.
We almost beat State in a rain storm with a beat up QB and we almost beat the best team in the B10, on the road and at night. So we get blown out in one game and everyone is ready to start focusing on basketball? You can talk all you want about "drunk kids in the stands" or "fans that don't care by not cheering" - but you are one among them if you have given up on this team.
Freshmen and sophomores... that's what most of these kids are. Hell, in high school our team won state - with Juniors and Seniors. If it had been entirely freshmen and sophomores, I couldn't imagine how bad our record would have been.
October 25th, 2009 at 10:17 PM ^
Congratulations on winning state. I also cannot resist opportunities to point out my own state championship team. Especially when they are relevant.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:12 PM ^
Just trying to use an example of how kids play better as they rise in class, but you being a dick right off the bat is a real nice way to respond. Especially when you compare your response to the others.
October 25th, 2009 at 10:28 PM ^
I never give up on Michigan NEVER. I wear my jersey on Saturday. Sing along to The Victors during the pregame, points scored by Michigan and the post game. Even after the humiliating loss to App St. Oregon and Toledo I never turn on my favorite team! Losses like yesterday's show us the difference between fair weather and true fan bases. I was the only one at my work that said Michigan would beat Florida in the Capital One Bowl. And look what happened there. I'm never giving up on this team. NEVER. There is too much future potential to walk away now! Way too much!
http://www.n566aj.com/max/images/bbs/never_give-up.gif
October 25th, 2009 at 10:29 PM ^
Freshmen and sophomoresThats basically all you need to say, it hurts to see your team lose like that, I fully understand what your feeling. The fanbase gets separated into what I would call the "angry" people and the "disappointed" where the only difference between the 2 groups is the later's ability to see the good in addition to the bad. Especially with a loss like this. It should get better, but if you guys turn on your team it is going to get much worse on the field.
October 25th, 2009 at 10:33 PM ^
People who don't understand football don't enjoy the process. They only look at the outcomes.
Granted, it was a painful experience to be aware of the "process" (if we should choose it call it that) that Michigan was executing on the field. But that is all part of the greater process of learning and developing.
Some jackass with a guitar for an avatar was whining about how the players aren't developing quickly enough. These experiences are the kinds of things it takes to develop. Coaching and time are necessary, but this stuff isn't automatic. You have to be completely incompetent to think it is. Some people are just
complete
f*cking
idiots.
Saban and Carroll don't have this problem, you say? Well it is easy when you cheat (we know for a fact that Saban does, Carroll most likely, etc.) and have a stable of uber-talent to draw on. Player development isn't as important at that point.
If Forcier were playing behind USC's OL, we would be having a much different conversation. Do you think Barkley has "developed" more? Absurd.
That, and I cannot believe ---simply boggles my mind--- how understated Molk going out has been in this discourse. No freaking clue. Sure it is one guy, but that shuffles the entire offensive line. Do you remember last year? The bulk of that underperformance was the nigh-perpetual OL shuffle. It is the most important part of the game and ours fell apart on Saturday. Naturally, everything cascaded from there. Of course there were many other factors, but that is the primary one.
Not much to enjoy on a day like that but, seriously people, know your limits. If you are an ignorant ass, don't pretend that you know what is due to coaching and what is due to whatever. You don't. Go crank one out, smoke a j, do whatever to calm your nerves and shut the hell up. Please :)
October 25th, 2009 at 10:37 PM ^
How anybody could of said this better. This entire paragraph has to be the most accurate, well thought out and well written response I've seen in a blog in a long time. Perfectly said my friend! Nailed it!
October 26th, 2009 at 2:52 AM ^
Excellent points sir. Just relax and enjoy the ride. We dropped 2 games to top 15 teams, with a freshman Qb and a shuffled O-Line. I'm not happy we lost, but I'm happy with this teams direction. This is a revolution in Michigan football, and you can't have a revolution without cracking some heads.
October 25th, 2009 at 10:36 PM ^
I had this game pegged as a loss at the beginning of the year and they lost; big fucking deal. It is not a crime to get your hat handed to you by an elite team. And, make no mistake, PSU is an elite team. The only team left on the schedule with the speed UM saw yesterday is OSU. They really should beat Purdue and Illinois, and I don't think it is too much to ask the upset gods to give them one of the last two games.
That would involve either beating Wisky's bulk with their speed in a strangely convoluted version of rock, paper, scissors, or coming up with a truly inspired effort in the Big Game. It appears that we are stuck with a seventy percent Tate Forcier for the rest of the year; that won't help things, but I still think he has enough left in the tank to TCB against the bad teams and might summon up the energy to get an upset in one of the other two.
Looking at yesterday, we probably had Forcier trying to make split-second decisions against an elite defense with post-concussion syndrome, and trying to deliver the ball with a sprained AC joint. That, to me, is not "playing like a freshman" or "coming down to earth after a hot start," as many in the MSM seem to be saying. It is a brave kid playing on fumes because he knows that a seventy percent Tate Forcier is better than any other option UM has at QB right now.
I hope he gets the respect and admiration he deserves someday. And I hope UM has enough depth next year that they can handle it if this happens again.
October 25th, 2009 at 10:44 PM ^
Anyone who gives up on this team wasn't a fan anyway. Their "support" won't be missed.
October 25th, 2009 at 10:47 PM ^
After the Notre Dame game. It was incredibly awesome that we beat Notre Dame in the Big House this year and upset them in the rankings but thats when the "high and mighty" attitude stepped in. This Michigan team is still very very young and it's not quite ready to be in the BCS spotlight yet. Teams like the current Michigan with a fresh and soph majority take longer to develope than others and it has to come with patience. The fan base has to realize how young this team is. They have a while to go before Michigan can really be considered a BCS style team. Right now they are focusing on improving and playing for next year. That is what a fresh and soph built team is about playing to improve for next season.
October 25th, 2009 at 10:58 PM ^
I agree. One thing that I never thought about before this year is that UM has never really had to rely on young guys quite like they have this year. Sure, Chad Henne may start as a freshman and the random RB/WR/DB might see playing time. But the past few years threw a wrench into the finely-tuned system UM has been running for the past 60+ years, where big-name recruits sat on the bench for a year or two before starting, and the teams usually had a fine mix of upper- and underclassmen. That is how most elite teams stay competitive year in and year out, and I fully expect that to be the case going forward. It will just take a couple of recruiting classes to get back into the rhythm.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:03 PM ^
It's just something that's going to take some time to correct but there is a very bright and prosperous future on the horizon right now for Michigan Football!
October 25th, 2009 at 10:49 PM ^
The fact that there's even a need for this thread is more ridiculous than the 5'8 guy who told me he could have caught all of Kevin Koger's drops yesterday.
I don't know of any semi intelligent Michigan fan who's giving up on this team. There's really no reason to explain this to the drunken 2nd quarter arriving fans, they'll be bandwagon followers forever.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:02 AM ^
Whatever, you're just bitter you're not getting as much playing time as you did last year.
October 25th, 2009 at 10:53 PM ^
I agree. I'll also argue that the Penn St. game was not as much of a blowout as it appeared. At least in my view, the team played reasonably well outside of the miscue to start the second half and DR's fumble. At that point, UM was behind the 8 ball and the game got out of hand a bit. But I was sitting with a Penn St. fan for part of the game, and he wasn't remotely confident about the outcome until midway through the 4th quarter. This team played a bit above its head the first 1/3 of the year, and is playing a bit below its ability right now (they probably should be 2-2, with a win against Iowa or MSU). The next 1/3 of the schedule lines up well for at least 2-2, and maybe even 3-1, since I have not been overly impressed by Wisconsin this year and Pryor's struggles at OSU make that game far more winnable than it looked earlier in the year.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:02 PM ^
Rational thinking keep me realistic,but I want it fixed know. Please accept my apology. I will give 3 more years to develop,implement the full playbook an d know it will be BCS time.
The one thing I would like to see is 5 and 16 in the backfield at the same time. either 1 going in motion, play action,many options many threats? At least we beat the teams were supposed to beat,\.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:25 AM ^
Agree w/ about everything you said!!
Except that State and Iowa were tougher losses to swallow.
Those losses were frustrating, because we played well, were *so* close, and came up short.
Yesterday was disappointing... a let-down because we were never in it at all after that first drive.
I'd rather see a game where M is competitive than a game where M gets schooled any day.
Other than that, totally agree! Still ALL IN!!!
October 26th, 2009 at 12:44 AM ^
Well stated. Hopefully you convinced a few people off the edge.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:49 AM ^
Good to see some optimism.
Also: I, too, hated the students that arrived late to their seats and then bitched at people to move. That's the policy at almost every major Michigan venue, first-come, first-served.
It was hilarious, however, to watch the drunken sorostitutes stand in the aisle and pout. But then I would get incensed if they came just for the hell of it and not to make noise. If you want to talk on the phone, go home and do it!
October 26th, 2009 at 6:15 AM ^
Anyone who starts whining and turning on the youngest team in the conference is not a true fan. You are no better than the people in the media that make up false stories to bring RichRod down....i.e. Rod was paper shredding his last seconds at WVU.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:21 AM ^
Most of the present crowd didn't give up on the team last year - so why in the hell would we give up on this year's team?
October 26th, 2009 at 11:10 AM ^
I can't wait until Michigan's freshman and sophs have more experience. Eliminating just a couple dropped balls & missed reads would have given Michigan more momentum and at least better field position. It may not have changed the final result but the wheels are not off. What is great about the program now is the ability to shrug off a bad game by looking forward to the great play ahead that will be the result of the "process".
October 26th, 2009 at 12:19 PM ^
Who's giving up? We're bowl eligible after this week! At least . . . we'd better be.