When was the last time you felt this optimistic?

Submitted by MonkeyMan on

I feel pretty optimistic now- like I haven't felt in a decade really (or around the time UM and OSU played each other as #1 and #2). 

I figured out why: fundamentals. Today I saw a game where the players were executing the fundamentals with precision- blockers were blasting, defense was wrapping, runners were plowing and the QB was sharpshooting. And all the mechanics looked like they should. There was no need for lots of fancy gadget plays for the most part. Just bread and butter dominance.

I never saw that basic soundness under RR or Hoke and never felt very confident about their teams- no matter what their records were or what direction they were heading. We never blew anybody out that was decent under them- never dominated a good team. I always felt we were faking it when things were going well and that it wouldn't last. The fundamentals were usually very bad.

Now- suddenly- I feel like I have been returned to an earlier time- before the nightmares. I really liked how the announcers at the Citrus Bowl talked about the UM tradition- and how it was crazy to try to change that- they showed the legacy stats. Yes, it was crazy.

And it felt the world was well again and the future has REAL promise- not fools gold.

How long has it been since you felt this way?

MGoBoard

Its me Dave

January 2nd, 2016 at 11:24 AM ^

I think never is a really good answer.

In one year, Harbaugh's demonstrated that he's a good judge of coaching and playing talent.  He's a both good scheme strategist and good game-time manager.  He's proven he and the staff can develop and improve player performance.  He's a charismatic recruiter both 1:1 and in the satellite camps.  He's does great PR for the program and can keep a national buzz going.  He has solid CEO and GM skills and has built a supporting organization that manages the details he can't personally see to (and other programs ignore.)  All that plus a genuine emotional tie to the University of Michigan and the town of Ann Arbor.

The guy is a once-in-a-generation hire.

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jonnyknox

January 2nd, 2016 at 9:22 AM ^

After 2011 but it is different this year because of all of the returning experienced players. 2017 will be challenging because 20ish contributors will be leaving.

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marco dane

January 2nd, 2016 at 9:24 AM ^

what off-season conditioning and player development produces. Hoke's 11 win season provided a *false* reading,which provided me that good feeling. As I look back...it was only smoke and mirrors.

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MGoDillon

January 2nd, 2016 at 9:41 AM ^

Not really, most people could see that that team was not very good, they just benefited from an easy schedule, a lot of luck, and a lot of Debard Robison (for better or for worse). Not to mention a bad OSU team, and a not very good VT team in the sugar bowl.



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naters113

January 2nd, 2016 at 10:16 AM ^

Hoke won with RR players and Harbaugh brought in a few key players (O'neill & Rudock) and didn't feel as much as he won with Hoke players but he won by developing the talent better as well as being very fundamentally sound.

The future is bright, it's great to be...

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UMxWolverines

January 2nd, 2016 at 12:00 PM ^

I was happy but I didn't really know what to expect in 2012. I thought we had a chance to be pretty good but I still wasn't so optimistic as I am about next year. We were losing Junior Hemmingway and Stonum wasn't coming back and a huge part of our offense had been throw jump balls up to Hemmingway. Next year we have Chesson and Darboh back...good lawd.

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bacon

January 2nd, 2016 at 9:29 AM ^

When Harbaugh was hired. I knew we'd be great, but didn't dream we'd win 10 games this year. He's the best coach we could have. Championships are on the way. Also, how great was it to see the maize and blue as the better prepared team in a bowl. I think that will be the standard with Harbaugh.

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MadtownMaize

January 2nd, 2016 at 9:28 AM ^

I do believe in Harbaugh more than any coach since Carr (maybe even more so), but it was only one game ago that we were trounced at home by our biggest rival. My supreme hope is that we sign some studs in February and find a great QB to lead us next year (whether he is on the roster now or comes in next fall). GO BLUE!

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ontarioblue

January 2nd, 2016 at 9:30 AM ^

When Gary had the reigns I was pretty confident that the team had the chance to win it all. Lloyd fulfilled this when he won in 1997 with Gary's kids. I think if he had stayed, he might have been one of our moat successful coaches ever.

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UMxWolverines

January 2nd, 2016 at 12:07 PM ^

I hate to be that guy but we were 10-3 this year in the first year of Harbaugh and he is already shooting for higher. Like someone said earlier in the thread we had the #1 or #2 recruiting class after 97. I'm not saying we should have expected another national title but I think 10-3 in 1998, 10-2 in 1999, and 10-3 in 2000 was not what we should have expected.

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WestQuad

January 2nd, 2016 at 9:40 AM ^

Does Llyod's 2007  9-4 App State year count as one of the Terrible Eight Years?   I'd call it a terrible seven years, but 2007 wasn't very good.

I agree with your analysis of 2011.  VT in particular, but during the season as a whole, the games never felt like they were under control.  

While I'm super optimistic right now, your history sort of brought me back down a bit.  Minnesota, Indiiana and OSU didn't feel like we were fully in control.  MSU though, despite the stat lines and score did feel like we were in control for much of the game. 

Magnus mentioned in his recap that Florida had a bunch of players who were not motivated to play in the game and/or suspended.  While our offense played well all game, things really seemed to open up after Davis went out.   That said, I'll take a drubbing of Florida any way I can get it.

Next year we have Wisconsin at home and MSU, Iowa and OSU on the road.  No Utah (or BYU) on the schedule, but next year sounds like a tougher schedule despite MSU and OSU losing a lot.

Still, our defense is going to be in the top three and if yesterday was any indication, our offense is going to be special as well.

 

*This was a reply to StephenRKass.  Though I rambled.

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StephenRKass

January 2nd, 2016 at 10:21 AM ^

You are correct . . . seven, not eight. And as I mentioned, I thought the tail end of Carr, including 2007, was less than stellar.

Right now, I don't want to overanalyze 2015. But I'd disagree about MSU, and add them to the games in which we weren't fully in control. We should have beat MSU, but we sure didn't throttle them. Special teams made a huge difference that game, for both good and bad. Also coaching. MSU gives me great hope that we're not going to be out-coached.

The single game for which I have absolutely no answer is Ohio State. I can analyze and project and hope in every other game, but OSU? Until I see our OL manage their DL, and our DL and LB disrupt their running game, we haven't reached the top of the mountain. When we can play OSU toe to toe, our OL and DL against their DL and OL, it is all just smoke and mirrors. Playing OSU tough and competing against them and beating them is, for me, the bellwether.

Next year is going to be tough. But there are several things I will be watching for carefully.

  • QB. Will O'Korn be the man? I really hope so.
  • OL. Will a full year under Drevno make a difference? The Florida game gives me some hope. Raulerson would help. I'm still not in love with Kalis. But I feel like the OL is FINALLY rounding into shape.
  • DL. They were so good this year. If they stay healthy, if Henry comes back, if Gary commits, they could be something special.
  • LB. Weakest area of team. Thankful for Bush. But sound the klaxon. We need at least one more solid recruit, a thumper. Something creative, whether with FB or DL or Peppers, is going to need to happen to shore this area up.

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MGoBlue24

January 2nd, 2016 at 1:26 PM ^

and illustrates the sudden change of fate for a team when key players go out.  

In the Carr years I always used to worry about running the same back over and over, based on injury potential.  I trust Harbaugh to maximize multiple weapons on offense, as he has shown this year.  The number of offensive players with touches, now including tight ends and fullbacks, is a huge positive.    

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MChem83

January 2nd, 2016 at 9:45 AM ^

in the Sugar Bowl at the end of Brady Hoke's inaugural 11-2 season (a season in which we actually beat MSU and OSU, btw).  We all know how that worked out, so I'll withhold my optimism this time until we actually beat our biggest rivals on the field, as opposed to in our imaginations, and win something that matters.

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UMProud

January 2nd, 2016 at 10:05 AM ^

Never.  Even during the Bo years I was skeptical of bowl games due to our track record.  Always worried that we would step off the gas and lose the game when ahead or just come not prepared.  This happened so many times over so many years...with Harbaugh I am absolutely confident he will pretty much be always prepared & competitive.  We won't kill ourselves on stupid mistakes routinely.

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Rodriguesqe

January 2nd, 2016 at 10:19 AM ^

Since we hired Harbaugh I've been pretty much full throttle.

The question this year was whether Hoke's recruites were failing because he had unbelievable luck in recruiting the vastly overrated guys or just had no ability to develop them.

Knowing how fast Harbaugh fixed Stanford and SF I was pretty ceartain he could do alright with the guys he inherritted and it was much more of the latter than the former.

10 wins is good but there is some serious unfinished business to be taken care of. Can't wait for next year already.

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flashOverride

January 2nd, 2016 at 10:27 AM ^

January,  2001

We had just won our third conference title in four years. The Natty was still fresh. We were on a 10-2-1 run on OSU. We had finally established dominance over PSU, who had initially seemed like a scary challenger. Saban had left EL and MSU was back to its proper afterthought status. We had lost three games by seven total points and THOUGHT we were returning our senior QB and almost everyone else. This twerpy guy had just taken over in Columbus and called us out and it was just like, "OK, sure, bud lol".

Sigh. I've said it before and will again, that 2001 offseason was when it all began...

 

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champswest

January 2nd, 2016 at 10:28 AM ^

think about the past. I am still basking in the glow of yesterday's game and a 10 win season. Happy thoughts about this next recruiting class and the top guys yet to commit. Looking forward to the spring game to see the continued improvement, the new DC effect, the guys coming off redshirts and the early enrollies. What a great time to be a Wolverine.

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MGoStrength

January 2nd, 2016 at 10:49 AM ^

...when we get that big recruit, waiting for the next guy to be awesome. Guys like Green, Gardner, Peppers, etc. I am excited about the future, but I really look forward to enjoying the present. Despite a great year there were many moments of frustration, even in the wins. I hope to get to a place where there are more easy wins. We had some this year, but we made some bad teams look good at times, made OSU look like the best team in the country, and didn't finish a key game that could have been a signature win. I look forward to the day when we soundly beat the team's we should, beat MSU, and make The Game a rivalry again where we win half the time. So, I'll keep my optimism in check and try and live in the present versus the future of possibilities.

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WolverineInCbus

January 2nd, 2016 at 11:13 AM ^

For me, I can't really remember a time that I felt this good going into an offseason. Usually when we finish a year this well we lose a lot of our key contributors. But that obviously is not true next year. I was optimistic going into 2007 after our close loss to osu in the 1 vs. 2 game, but the usc rose bowl destruction tempered those feelings a bit.



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DealerCamel

January 2nd, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^

Actually, pretty recently.  As recently as the second game of 2013.  And there was a point in the first or second quarter when Houma had a carry about which the announcer said, "Now, there's something you didn't see under the previous regime!"  I remember the exact same thing being said during UTL when Hopkins had a pass thrown his way. 

Not to discount anything Harbaugh's done, but just because everything's trending positive now doesn't mean that everything in previous years was negative.

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Der Alte

January 2nd, 2016 at 12:05 PM ^

Since anyone's written about a Michigan team the way the Orlando Sentinel did this morning: "Tough, physical Wolverines manhandle UF before sellout crowd"

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SD Larry

January 2nd, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^

Last time I was this optimistic about M football, Charles Woodson just returned an OSU punt for a touchdown in the Big House in a game where OSU was favored.  If I recall correctly Michigan went on the win a National Championship in the Rose Bowl.   Going to be patient (or at least try to be) and enjoy the journey with our team now as it is clearly headed in the right direction, plays with great heart, and a confidence in overcoming adversity that really special.

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