MGoPodcast 3.7: Death to Everyone

Ok, I've had some time to dissect what happened on Saturday. My emotions have softened, and I can coherently think about what transpired on Saturday afternoon. Plus, I’m excited that Boo got engaged. Congrats dude!

First and foremost, I'm embarrassed to know that Michigan didn't shake the hands of the MSU players after the game. No excuse for that really. Hostile environment, sure. Swirl wind and trash...everywhere....but to run off the field, without showing some sportsmanship, is disappointing. Hoke preaches about being a "Michigan man", and has done a spectacular job pointing our kids in the right direction, but to run off the field in that fashion...is a disgrace. No man, whether it be a Michigan one, or a West Virginia one, doesn't respect the opponent, and congratulate them on a victory, hard fought. MSU had some questionable antics and calls, but that's part of the game, and there's no proof (D*ck Weed coach or not), that these are not isolated decisions and incidents done by the individual. In fact, there is ZERO CHANCE that the coach told the kids to go out there and rip the face of Denard, or punch Lewan.. If you think he did, you are mistaken.....it would cost him his job. Both teams come to play, and this is what happens.....Denard is our bread and butter, and players try to hurt each other...EVERY SINGLE PLAY. D'Antonio is a good coach, that hates Michigan, and will overlook some of the incidents, just as he has proven to do by reinstating players with criminal arrest records. They played the same way against ND, but were on the losing end of the stick. Remember, he loves Tressell, and models himself after his "idol". People don’t like Michigan….and for that reason alone, be proud, as it’s all rooted in historical success and dominance. Obviously, not the last 4 years of it.

With that in mind, I am still curious to know why Michigan didn't shake their hands. I've heard and read multiple accounts of some really poor behavior (something about the Paul Bunyan Trophy, spitting, and objects being tossed), but let me remind you that this is a heated, emotionally driven game. I’ve had bad experiences at every stadium I’ve attended. Mix alcohol, students, and passion, and you have a recipe for disaster. Expect it, and prepare for it, because if you don’t, you’ll find yourself in some unnecessary fisticuffs. Than again….maybe you welcome a good “mano y mano moment”. Lord knows, sometimes I do!!  MSU detests and loathes Michigan, it's fans, and everything in-between. Sure, there are much more "healthy" rivalry's on our schedule, namely ND, but to go to East Lansing and not expect to receive an enormous amount of angst and retaliation, you are sorely mistaken. If you go to the game and want to flaunt your colors, and allegiance, than I suggest your prepare for a long afternoon. To complain about MSU fans taunting you, or being unruly, is a joke. You can’t call yourself a man, if you aren’t able to deflect the onslaught, and defend your team. Stay at home next year, because there could be a Part 5.

After each game I read the "presser notes" from the coach, and the players. Most of it revolves around "team" this, "team" that. After this game, I was especially interested in seeing how Hoke responds to the loss, and the adversity that accompanies it.  His responses were short, and to the point. Almost depressed sounding. Expected I guess. But....I was impressed that no excuses were ever made, nor was there any Michigan references toward "dirty" play, only questions about it from the press. There's no denying that there were a lot of personal fouls, but last I checked, that's part of an emotionally charged game. I’m sure it happened on both sides of the ball, to some degree, but maybe MSU did a poor(er) job of hiding it.

Again, There's a lot of chatter amongst MSU fans about "whiney" Michigan behavior, and to some degree, this is true. I wish Michigan would just accept their medicine, and realize we lost because we were the inferior team, AGAIN, and our much to the chagrin of the 6-0 start, our coaching is once again scrutinized and questioned. Blame it on hope. Blame it on disgust. Blame it on misery. Blame it on embarrassment. What I do know, is that we got our a$$es handed to us. Our play calling was HORRENDOUS. Our tackling, almost as bad. We had multiple turnovers in our favor, and went backwards, when our offense took the field. We had a punter that put them in awful field position, but instead of stopping them, and changing momentum, we missed tackles and ran around in circles. Speaking of circles...did anyone forget about Gardner running from sideline to sideline, end zone to end zone, looking like an angry hyena? Awful. What about when he passed the ball after he was 5 yards over the line of scrimmage? That was nice.

So, what do we have here? We have a team that drove down the field on the first possession, by running the ball, utilizing bubble screens, and draws, catching MSU off guard. From that point forward, the play calling took a dramatic turn. No more self-proclaimed "smash mouthed" football. No more hitting guys. Our offensive line was a disgrace...either that, or the MSU front 7 are that good....and that might be more accurate. They blitzed on EVERY SINGLE PLAY. Every snap, I was scared what was going to happen, so I can't imagine how the players felt. I personally have no issues with the play call on that fourth and short, where Denard tried to hide the ball. If that works, we are all jumping up and down, kissing one another, if it doesn’t, Borges looks like a fool. I'm really confused about Borges' play calling, but he got us to 6-0, and that's better than I had expected at the start of the year. He's a good coach, with questionable talent, for his system. I do not think Gardner is the answer, nor do I think Denard should be at Split End, Slot, or RB. He's our QB, and we, as a team, need to call more screens, runs, and draws (QB or RB). Denard cannot pass the ball, one lick, and unless you feel like losing some more embarrassing games, realize that, and get over your Pro-Style QB pride, and run him wild. Christ, I'd even like to see the Option used more...it seems to work well with this personnel.

One last thing...those uniforms were AWFUL. Why the hell would we do that? The ND game was special, because of the concept, but to bring in the stripes on the shoulder again, was a bad decision. I liked the white pants, and for the record, love the number on the side of the helmet, but the incorporation of the throw back jersey again, was overkill. Consolation? Not really….but Michigan State’s uniforms were far worse. Nike is awful.