Yesterday's Game
From yesterday's game, the offense did a good job as expected. Obviously the defense needs a lot of work. There's no doubt about that, and it certainly isn't the first time that it's been discussed.
Despite all the defense's problems, the thing that made me the most mad was special teams. Field goal kicking, as everyone knows, is nonexistent. It is a big problem for a coach not being able to get three points on the board after a decent drive. Rich Rod said that they'll hold another round of tryouts for kickers to hopefully fix the problem. We really haven't had a good kicker for the past few years and to be honest it's quite embarrassing.
The punt returns are also a huge concern, as Gallon is still making terrible decisions. He tipped the ball on one of the punts yesterday and almost caused a turnover and gave UMass possession starting in the red zone. You can't win a big game making stupid decisions like that. I'm sure he thought about how good of a return he could have if he grabbed the ball, but in that situation there's still very little reason to go up for that grab. I was having Odoms failed punt return flashbacks, and that's definitely not a good thing. Hold on to the damn ball. As far as the turnover numbers are concerned, we've been pretty lucky. With ball security like this, they could be a lot higher.
I apologize for the pessimism, I still have very high hopes for the rest of this season. At least these mistakes were made before Big Ten play to give us a chance to correct them.
September 19th, 2010 at 5:38 PM ^
K- Redshirt Fr./Redshirt Fr.
PK- Redshirt Fr./Redshirt Fr.
P- True Fr.
P Ret- Redshirt Fr.
September 19th, 2010 at 5:48 PM ^
Great point. Though I really don't have a problem with Hagerup, and I'm sure they'll all get better in time. I'm just so eager to have a great team that I wish they could be awesome right away, which isn't always the way it turns out.
September 19th, 2010 at 9:00 PM ^
My only contention to this "He's only a Fresh" statement is "Good observation, but haven't they been catching snaps and kicking for awhile now?"
How long does one get or is it a cycle one gets to ride when going to the 'next level'? So, in any professional sport it can be a nice out: "Well, he is a rookie". Just last year that rookie was told by his college coach, "Come on, you're a senior!"
If someone has been active in their trade for x amount of years, is it still valid to espouse this stuff?
*on with the flame retardant suit*
September 19th, 2010 at 5:45 PM ^
The new RR Triple Option: Run, Pass, or Kick the FG.
.
September 19th, 2010 at 8:32 PM ^
fgs might be a stretch, but i think that leaving him in on 4th and managable at the opponents 40-50 yard line with the option to either punt or pass/run could yield some good results. his punting skills dont seem too shabby
September 19th, 2010 at 8:37 PM ^
Avatar seems familar....
September 19th, 2010 at 5:45 PM ^
Seriously, how many threads does it take to come to the same conclusion over and over again? "Offense good. Dreads good. Defense bad. Kicking bad. Hold onto damn ball."
September 19th, 2010 at 6:03 PM ^
You Sir, were 1 mentioning of Dee Hart away from summing up the last 3 weeks on this blog...
September 19th, 2010 at 6:18 PM ^
WHAT HAPPENED WITH DEE HART???1?
September 19th, 2010 at 6:49 PM ^
September 19th, 2010 at 9:07 PM ^
With all due respect, not every member on this board is perusing it every five minutes. I understand it becomes annoying after a while but instead of harassing people that make these threads why can't you just ignore them?
September 19th, 2010 at 9:13 PM ^
This .gif is mesmerizing.
September 19th, 2010 at 9:17 PM ^
May I recommend:
September 19th, 2010 at 6:11 PM ^
Yestarday, for a few minutes, the football gods rained hatred down upon the maize and blue. They gave them a season's worth of negative "shit happens" in about three minutes. And you know what? Michigan still won. They endured and defeated the wrath of the football gods.
So, I look at Michigan has having won twice yesterday: once over UMass and once over the football gods. Not only is it a sign of progess, but it lends a whole new meaning to "win-win."
September 19th, 2010 at 6:37 PM ^
Next time, please go here instead: http://www.mlive.com/forums/umfb/
Seriously, bad timing (day late, dollar short, etc.) aside, you're adding zero original thinking to the 'blog discussion. Sorry.
September 19th, 2010 at 6:41 PM ^
Thanks, I'm so glad this was brought up I was afraid this topic was being overlooked.
September 19th, 2010 at 6:43 PM ^
A lot of really bad stuff happened, the defense and special teams were terrible, and we still won. That is huge.
Let's see if we can start improving in these areas, and win some more.
Think about how much worse you would feel if we lost.
September 20th, 2010 at 2:34 PM ^
i have tried to remind myself of that. it was a WIN! GO BLUE!
September 19th, 2010 at 6:45 PM ^
I AGREEEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OR MAYBE I DON'TT????????????
September 19th, 2010 at 7:13 PM ^
My question is when does Hagerup start taking reps at kicker?
September 19th, 2010 at 8:47 PM ^
With regards to the tipped ball by Gallon, can you blame a kid for being aggressive and trying to make a play. Had that ball been 6 inches lower, you'd be talking about the great return Gallon had instead of the fumble. He had a lot of green running room in front of him. Soon enough this kid is going to make a spectacular play.
September 19th, 2010 at 9:51 PM ^
Completely honestly, I'd give him props for a good return but still be pissed about him going for the ball. That's how much ball security matters. It's like you're saying we can afford to take huge risks because they have a high payout and completely disregard the odds that it actually works. And the ball wasn't 6 inches lower, so that doesn't really matter.
I didn't say he was a bad player, I said he needs to stop making stupid decisions.
September 20th, 2010 at 2:38 PM ^
so close to this one! this would have been a big momentum shift our way. but in the past we would have lost this fumble. chance favors the prepared minds and i believe RR and the staff have better prepared our athletes better. better yet i believe that RR and the staff have taught our athletes to better prepare themselves.
September 19th, 2010 at 8:47 PM ^
Rittenberg says that the Big Ten has a "special" problem in his blog.
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten
He points out that Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Ohio State are all having special team issues this year.
When we work it out, we should have several years of stability. Won't that be nice?
September 19th, 2010 at 9:48 PM ^
Ive noticed the past few games Denard throwing blocks.I know hes tough and a team player but I hope someone is telling him thats a no no.