Anyone who sees a girlfriend through the lense of "The One" is in no way equipped for a successful marriage. There is no such thing as "The One." It is childish, Idealistic, fairy tale stuff. You either get along in a productive and complementary way or you do not.
Please don't propose still believing in these ideas.
Your wife should be a great addition to your life, not be the focus or your greatest accomplishment. If she is, she will resent you for it. As you read through this thread there are plenty talking this way and you do not want to be them.
First have a mission. Then, find someone who wants to come along for the ride.
Why would I want to trivialize women's issues? Even if I did want to (which I don't) it would be impossible. I see women's sexual assault stories every day.
Do you see stories every day about what I brought up? The death and disposability of men?
They don't even keep prison rape statistics because no one gives a crap about what happens to men in there.
Hopefully someday men care as much about themselves, the death, and disposability of their own gender as they do women's problems.
Rape is a horrible thing I wouldn't wish on anyone. Also there are issues at least as important as these that people need to start TALKING ABOUT that have to do with men.
If you don't like it you can negbomb me to the depths of hell.
To boot, they decided to fire their manager in the off season...he who'd won 7 of 9 down the stretch to stave off relegation and then went with a very unpopular choice in Claudio Ranieri.
Ranieri was last seen bombing out with the Greek National Team.
Check out a site called SwiftRiver. It is still in its infancy/beta, but it will accumulate tweets by things like keywords (hashtags, etc.). It will catch every last one, unfortunately, and maybe that is overwhelming. On the positive side you can uprank/downrank "trusted" sources (it's been created to aggregate information from sources in places like 3rd world countries having disasters, elections, etc.) so if someone is annoying and you've downvoted to "untrustworthy" you can just ignore them. Worth a look, probably.
I don't livechat once the game starts, so it doesn't matter too much to me.
Selling a second car, a motorcycle, emptying your retirement, and reducing your $1,300/mo in entertainment to near zero must have taken out at least 50% of it. Then add as much as you can pay every month probably another 40%. I don't exactly think the pedi-cabbing and new business was what made this happen.
I'm not trying to pick on the guy because it takes commitment and willpower to both pay and change your lifestyle, but it's not like people struggling to pay off their loans have these sorts of assets lying around that they must "sacrifice." And it's not like sacrifcing for seven months is all that amazing.
This has to be the first time the loser of The Game has invoked all of the "problems" their program is going through in a year where the winner has an ENTIRELY NEW COACHING STAFF. Lulz.
I like how you use the term "swagger" to describe what the team needs and in the next sentence deride those who use grit, determined, etc. (Not that I'm on either side.)
P.S. No need to fear science, but if you do, you don't have to read it. You could probably get admitted to the BBWAA.
Wish his tape had some returns or something over the middle. Short stride for whatever reason. Good ball skills and seems fast. Definitely an outside guy.
I don't know how to say this because I'm not trying to be a jerk in any way, but I don't give a crap what Adam Rittenberg thinks. It's inconsequential. He's not an insider with the program and he's trying to cover 11 teams. Trying to win the national media's approval is a futile exercise. He's the same guy that said Obi Ezeh had a good game against UConn.
I know we're not supposed to post like this, but I agree with about everything Magnus said. The 3-4 has a ton of flexibility with the ability to stay quite basic. The OLBs are the key - especially since the strong and weak assume very different responsibilities on most downs while you still need the abiliy to bring pressure/drop into coverage with each to gain all the advantages of the front. If you can't get those guys, I'd run something else (personally a 4-3).
The 4-4 can be run very effectively at the high school level as the primary front.
Seriously? No, he wouldn't lose a year of eligibility. That's kind of important to understand.
Why do 20 year olds do anything they do? They're not always big picture guys. A year to a kid that age is a long time. His expectations of participating have already been met. It's just not plausible, unless he's extraordinary mentally.
I'm not talking about whether he can play the position here or elsewhere. It's just that redshirting a junior-to-be is a ridiculously hard sell.
If it were a video game, sure. But I can't imagine anything more amotivating than redshirting a kid who's gotten on the field a little his first two years. He's tasted it, even if with poor results. Now you're going to say "hey, you're not going to play for a year, but work hard to improve"...? I think if you did you're asking for him to go through the motions and/or transfer. I don't think the intended benefit is there unless he's the rare 20 year old with his head on perfectly straight.
Not that Danielson gets it (probably), but players can always volunteer to come in for extra film review, despite the 20 hour rule. Coaches can strongly suggest. No class make this easier.
There's something to the serious answers that have been listed, but the most important--coming before all of them--is that the academy football programs can take up to 125 kids a year. They can funnel kids through prep school who need development. Some make it, some don't, but the ones who do are typically decent players. Then, all the stuff about the triple, discipline, etc. matters to some degree.
Another answer (and this one is only speculative) is that the academy route is more attractive than ever to FBS walk-on types because the price of education has risen so dramatically.
People seem really caught up in the scheme. Any scheme can be executed successfully with the proper talent. This is a talent issue. (And by talent I mean bad players and young players yet to develop.)
A lot of folks are focusing on the secondary, but the play of the Mike and Will are as bad or worse. What does this mean? It means M can't stop the run or the pass. When you can't stop one or the other you don't have a very high probability of giving up few points. You can't dictate a single thing defensively and the game boils down to who can dictate play.
It is impossible to know the defensive staff's ability to develop talent without both a) knowing football well, and b) being inside the program. In my experience good/smart football players can figure out what to do with any type of coaching as long as what is taught is consistent in terms of responsibilities. I'm not saying the staff is good or bad at development, I'm just saying that speculation about it is exactly that. My inclination is that at the level of coaching success they've achieved, there is a higher probability of knowing something about it. I could be wrong.
Finally, a lack of depth is more than a game/injury issue. Lacking depth means practice is less competitive, less leadership is available, and some starters don't have to use every last bit of their will to earn a starting spot. Some never have the opportunity to learn the game well from a more experienced player. At the same time, motivation can diminish because players reach their goals more easily than they otherwise should. It can and does impede a player from reaching their ceiling. If you look back at previous Michigan players who started as freshman (defensively) and ended up being great players, they were surrounded by experienced, high caliber players who both helped shield their deficiencies and taught them about playing the game well. This year, M's defense has only a few upperclassmen, most of whom aren't very good.
Actually, poor tackling is almost always more a function of having stiff athletes and ones who aren't good enough to put themselves in a position to make an easier (higher percentage) one. If you're stiff, you can't stop and change direction well. There's not much that can be done about it either.
Sure you can jump it. All you have to do is never get beat deep on plays that are not Now passes, hope the offense never uses pump fakes, and make the interception.
The answer to your first paragraph is yes, though to a much higher degree. I've simplified a lot here for time's sake and only used one game.
When the D practices they learn what sets and plays the opponent likes to use based on a number of factors. They will get an enormous scouting report early in the week (at least the one's I used to help compile were 15+ pages usually). Probably each position coach adds a piece for his guys along with more general tendencies like above. DB coaches draw up common pattern combos, DL coaches draw blocking schemes, etc.
When I ran a scout team, each card had the play, personnel group, and a down & distance. Each coach has a practice script with the same info. Before the scout team breaks the huddle, the coaches will yell out the personnel group and a mock down and distance. This also helps reinforce the info from the scouting report.
On game day, though I haven't seen it, I'm sure there is someone on the sideline holding up neon cards to relay the personnel group to the D, which comes down over the headset form the box upstairs ("11" or "12" or "21" or whatever). The players communicate or have to know the D & D. Then they have to use what they know and play.
Half the stuff (or more) in even the most detailed scouting report can end up completely useless if the offense has success with something new. They will try things you haven't seen.
I looked up the play again on Youtube. IMO, the defense is 4-3 Cover 4 (The corners bail post-snap and nothing says 3-3 that I can see). The Mike gets a tad deep and the Will gets himself turned around, occupied by the 2 WRs to this side. Regardless, this is much better than biting and having MSU hit a dig over your head, for much more than 14 yards. Should they take a 3 yard drop? Hardly. Offenses complete these types of balls all the time. WIS just doesn't do a great job here. The Will may have had an outside shot if he didn't turn the way he did.
Also, it's the third play of the game and WIS played Cover 4 fewer than 5 times. I don't see the big deal.
Yes - Northeastern dropped after the 2008 season and Hofstra after the 2009 season. These were both doormats in the league, but wouldn't be surprised if they scooped up a few, especially from NE because it's in Boston.
Some of this may be a repeat, but I coached at an FCS program so I'm just going to purge my info.
They beat William and Mary in a close game to open, who was a FCS seminfinalist last year. Really nice win.
Yesterday they easily beat Holy Cross, who also qualified for the FCS playoffs last year. This is a tad misleading because the Patriot League HC plays in is the second worst conference in the FCS.
They play in the CAA, which is THE conference in FCS ball. Often 4 teams from that league are granted spots in the 16 team field. If you ever catch any of the FCS playoff, Richmond, Villanova, James Madison, William and Mary, New Hampshire, Delaware (not Delaware St.) and others play in that league. Obviously JMU is good again. Virginia's new coach was hired away from Richmond last year. I also think UMass's coach was a candidate for the Boston College job the last time it came open, though I am really fuzzy on the details of that right now.
Check the video example I posted below. If every play were as Brown described, he'd keep pushing vertically on the play. On this play he's trying to get to the sticks on 3rd and 7, stemming inside to set the guy up before (eventually) running a short out. I'm not disagreeing with what Chris is saying, but it's not the case in the example that made me make the comment. Also, some ND guys say he has some nagging injuries which may be contributing. Either way, it looks like what it looks like.
I don't know...I thought he was pretty hyped up so I also thought he'd have better than average speed and run good routes. It may be too much for him to run so many routes due to his size. Seriously.
Deep linking isn't working so check this video at the 17 second mark for after-the-catch speed and 6 min, 24 second mark for routes:
I didn't see the game, but Washington is probably doing it once they see which side has the 3 tech and the 1 tech to run where they want. The pistol backfield is the same idea. Don't declare until immediately before snap, if at all. Some defenses decide where to align interior linemen based on the RB, assuming you're talking about a Gun Near/Gun Far situation.
This is not a big factor in the M offense. We don't declare the ball on the snap. Most run plays have options built in so the defense picks its poison in-play.
Regardless of the comments, he 100% should have caught the first one. He had time and room and assumed it would roll out of bounds. He tried to catch the second one because he knew he should have caught the first one.
Recent Comments
is brian THE_KNOWLEDGE
This is spot on.
Anyone who sees a girlfriend through the lense of "The One" is in no way equipped for a successful marriage. There is no such thing as "The One." It is childish, Idealistic, fairy tale stuff. You either get along in a productive and complementary way or you do not.
Please don't propose still believing in these ideas.
Your wife should be a great addition to your life, not be the focus or your greatest accomplishment. If she is, she will resent you for it. As you read through this thread there are plenty talking this way and you do not want to be them.
First have a mission. Then, find someone who wants to come along for the ride.
Why would a restraining order be funny?
Why would I want to trivialize women's issues? Even if I did want to (which I don't) it would be impossible. I see women's sexual assault stories every day.
Do you see stories every day about what I brought up? The death and disposability of men?
with what I said go ahead and refute it.
how incredibly brainwashed men are in this country. This thread is embarrassing.
Men commit SUICIDE at 4X the rate of women.
http://www.save.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=705D5DF4…
They receive 63% longer prison sentences than women for the same crime:
https://www.law.umich.edu/newsandinfo/features/Pages/starr_gender_dispa…
Women have five years longer LIFE EXPECTANCY than men in this country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
They don't even keep prison rape statistics because no one gives a crap about what happens to men in there.
Hopefully someday men care as much about themselves, the death, and disposability of their own gender as they do women's problems.
Rape is a horrible thing I wouldn't wish on anyone. Also there are issues at least as important as these that people need to start TALKING ABOUT that have to do with men.
If you don't like it you can negbomb me to the depths of hell.
To boot, they decided to fire their manager in the off season...he who'd won 7 of 9 down the stretch to stave off relegation and then went with a very unpopular choice in Claudio Ranieri.
Ranieri was last seen bombing out with the Greek National Team.
Check out a site called SwiftRiver. It is still in its infancy/beta, but it will accumulate tweets by things like keywords (hashtags, etc.). It will catch every last one, unfortunately, and maybe that is overwhelming. On the positive side you can uprank/downrank "trusted" sources (it's been created to aggregate information from sources in places like 3rd world countries having disasters, elections, etc.) so if someone is annoying and you've downvoted to "untrustworthy" you can just ignore them. Worth a look, probably.
I don't livechat once the game starts, so it doesn't matter too much to me.
Ask THE KNOWLEDGE.
(10/12)
This is admirable, but come on.
Selling a second car, a motorcycle, emptying your retirement, and reducing your $1,300/mo in entertainment to near zero must have taken out at least 50% of it. Then add as much as you can pay every month probably another 40%. I don't exactly think the pedi-cabbing and new business was what made this happen.
I'm not trying to pick on the guy because it takes commitment and willpower to both pay and change your lifestyle, but it's not like people struggling to pay off their loans have these sorts of assets lying around that they must "sacrifice." And it's not like sacrifcing for seven months is all that amazing.
Good job, I guess.
That is all.
WELL IF FIUTAK SAID IT
OMGZ.
O RLY?
I said this Saturday and I'll say it again:
This has to be the first time the loser of The Game has invoked all of the "problems" their program is going through in a year where the winner has an ENTIRELY NEW COACHING STAFF. Lulz.
OT season is over dumb asses.
I cannot believe this. Stunned.
RIP, Killer.
I see this playing out like Jerry Maguire's "The Things we Think and Do Not Say."
In your case, I think you mean "moran."
(Site locked up during posting. Sorry.)
Thank you. And thank you for breaking up all the bull shit flying around here.
You people have fucking ruined this site. I hate every last fucking one of you.
I like how you use the term "swagger" to describe what the team needs and in the next sentence deride those who use grit, determined, etc. (Not that I'm on either side.)
P.S. No need to fear science, but if you do, you don't have to read it. You could probably get admitted to the BBWAA.
Wish his tape had some returns or something over the middle. Short stride for whatever reason. Good ball skills and seems fast. Definitely an outside guy.
I don't know how to say this because I'm not trying to be a jerk in any way, but I don't give a crap what Adam Rittenberg thinks. It's inconsequential. He's not an insider with the program and he's trying to cover 11 teams. Trying to win the national media's approval is a futile exercise. He's the same guy that said Obi Ezeh had a good game against UConn.
I do think RR is back.
I know we're not supposed to post like this, but I agree with about everything Magnus said. The 3-4 has a ton of flexibility with the ability to stay quite basic. The OLBs are the key - especially since the strong and weak assume very different responsibilities on most downs while you still need the abiliy to bring pressure/drop into coverage with each to gain all the advantages of the front. If you can't get those guys, I'd run something else (personally a 4-3).
The 4-4 can be run very effectively at the high school level as the primary front.
Seriously? No, he wouldn't lose a year of eligibility. That's kind of important to understand.
Why do 20 year olds do anything they do? They're not always big picture guys. A year to a kid that age is a long time. His expectations of participating have already been met. It's just not plausible, unless he's extraordinary mentally.
I'm not talking about whether he can play the position here or elsewhere. It's just that redshirting a junior-to-be is a ridiculously hard sell.
If it were a video game, sure. But I can't imagine anything more amotivating than redshirting a kid who's gotten on the field a little his first two years. He's tasted it, even if with poor results. Now you're going to say "hey, you're not going to play for a year, but work hard to improve"...? I think if you did you're asking for him to go through the motions and/or transfer. I don't think the intended benefit is there unless he's the rare 20 year old with his head on perfectly straight.
Not that Danielson gets it (probably), but players can always volunteer to come in for extra film review, despite the 20 hour rule. Coaches can strongly suggest. No class make this easier.
I hate the NCAA.
There's something to the serious answers that have been listed, but the most important--coming before all of them--is that the academy football programs can take up to 125 kids a year. They can funnel kids through prep school who need development. Some make it, some don't, but the ones who do are typically decent players. Then, all the stuff about the triple, discipline, etc. matters to some degree.
Another answer (and this one is only speculative) is that the academy route is more attractive than ever to FBS walk-on types because the price of education has risen so dramatically.
I'm guessing to fight in a war your dad signed some papers. In CFB a Letter of Intent is used.
People seem really caught up in the scheme. Any scheme can be executed successfully with the proper talent. This is a talent issue. (And by talent I mean bad players and young players yet to develop.)
A lot of folks are focusing on the secondary, but the play of the Mike and Will are as bad or worse. What does this mean? It means M can't stop the run or the pass. When you can't stop one or the other you don't have a very high probability of giving up few points. You can't dictate a single thing defensively and the game boils down to who can dictate play.
It is impossible to know the defensive staff's ability to develop talent without both a) knowing football well, and b) being inside the program. In my experience good/smart football players can figure out what to do with any type of coaching as long as what is taught is consistent in terms of responsibilities. I'm not saying the staff is good or bad at development, I'm just saying that speculation about it is exactly that. My inclination is that at the level of coaching success they've achieved, there is a higher probability of knowing something about it. I could be wrong.
Finally, a lack of depth is more than a game/injury issue. Lacking depth means practice is less competitive, less leadership is available, and some starters don't have to use every last bit of their will to earn a starting spot. Some never have the opportunity to learn the game well from a more experienced player. At the same time, motivation can diminish because players reach their goals more easily than they otherwise should. It can and does impede a player from reaching their ceiling. If you look back at previous Michigan players who started as freshman (defensively) and ended up being great players, they were surrounded by experienced, high caliber players who both helped shield their deficiencies and taught them about playing the game well. This year, M's defense has only a few upperclassmen, most of whom aren't very good.
Actually, poor tackling is almost always more a function of having stiff athletes and ones who aren't good enough to put themselves in a position to make an easier (higher percentage) one. If you're stiff, you can't stop and change direction well. There's not much that can be done about it either.
Sure you can jump it. All you have to do is never get beat deep on plays that are not Now passes, hope the offense never uses pump fakes, and make the interception.
The answer to your first paragraph is yes, though to a much higher degree. I've simplified a lot here for time's sake and only used one game.
When the D practices they learn what sets and plays the opponent likes to use based on a number of factors. They will get an enormous scouting report early in the week (at least the one's I used to help compile were 15+ pages usually). Probably each position coach adds a piece for his guys along with more general tendencies like above. DB coaches draw up common pattern combos, DL coaches draw blocking schemes, etc.
When I ran a scout team, each card had the play, personnel group, and a down & distance. Each coach has a practice script with the same info. Before the scout team breaks the huddle, the coaches will yell out the personnel group and a mock down and distance. This also helps reinforce the info from the scouting report.
On game day, though I haven't seen it, I'm sure there is someone on the sideline holding up neon cards to relay the personnel group to the D, which comes down over the headset form the box upstairs ("11" or "12" or "21" or whatever). The players communicate or have to know the D & D. Then they have to use what they know and play.
Half the stuff (or more) in even the most detailed scouting report can end up completely useless if the offense has success with something new. They will try things you haven't seen.
I looked up the play again on Youtube. IMO, the defense is 4-3 Cover 4 (The corners bail post-snap and nothing says 3-3 that I can see). The Mike gets a tad deep and the Will gets himself turned around, occupied by the 2 WRs to this side. Regardless, this is much better than biting and having MSU hit a dig over your head, for much more than 14 yards. Should they take a 3 yard drop? Hardly. Offenses complete these types of balls all the time. WIS just doesn't do a great job here. The Will may have had an outside shot if he didn't turn the way he did.
Also, it's the third play of the game and WIS played Cover 4 fewer than 5 times. I don't see the big deal.
I didn't seen anything I thought resembled a 3-3-5. Could you post the link so I can see if we are talking about the same thing? Thanks.
Magnus - is there a way to reach you on Twitter or via e-mail?
This is not OT. Come on, people.
You'll notice OT threads get deleted during the season. They are not allowed. Just so you know.
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/moderator-action-sticky
And spits a lot?
Yes - Northeastern dropped after the 2008 season and Hofstra after the 2009 season. These were both doormats in the league, but wouldn't be surprised if they scooped up a few, especially from NE because it's in Boston.
Some of this may be a repeat, but I coached at an FCS program so I'm just going to purge my info.
They beat William and Mary in a close game to open, who was a FCS seminfinalist last year. Really nice win.
Yesterday they easily beat Holy Cross, who also qualified for the FCS playoffs last year. This is a tad misleading because the Patriot League HC plays in is the second worst conference in the FCS.
They play in the CAA, which is THE conference in FCS ball. Often 4 teams from that league are granted spots in the 16 team field. If you ever catch any of the FCS playoff, Richmond, Villanova, James Madison, William and Mary, New Hampshire, Delaware (not Delaware St.) and others play in that league. Obviously JMU is good again. Virginia's new coach was hired away from Richmond last year. I also think UMass's coach was a candidate for the Boston College job the last time it came open, though I am really fuzzy on the details of that right now.
Check the video example I posted below. If every play were as Brown described, he'd keep pushing vertically on the play. On this play he's trying to get to the sticks on 3rd and 7, stemming inside to set the guy up before (eventually) running a short out. I'm not disagreeing with what Chris is saying, but it's not the case in the example that made me make the comment. Also, some ND guys say he has some nagging injuries which may be contributing. Either way, it looks like what it looks like.
I don't know...I thought he was pretty hyped up so I also thought he'd have better than average speed and run good routes. It may be too much for him to run so many routes due to his size. Seriously.
Deep linking isn't working so check this video at the 17 second mark for after-the-catch speed and 6 min, 24 second mark for routes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6BQo294-pM
I didn't see the game, but Washington is probably doing it once they see which side has the 3 tech and the 1 tech to run where they want. The pistol backfield is the same idea. Don't declare until immediately before snap, if at all. Some defenses decide where to align interior linemen based on the RB, assuming you're talking about a Gun Near/Gun Far situation.
This is not a big factor in the M offense. We don't declare the ball on the snap. Most run plays have options built in so the defense picks its poison in-play.
Regardless of the comments, he 100% should have caught the first one. He had time and room and assumed it would roll out of bounds. He tried to catch the second one because he knew he should have caught the first one.
It's game day, man. Stop analyzing and start enjoying. No one knows. Jesus.
Totally agree. Amazing first half...you got my emotions up...I was ready for some RAGE after that.
Thanks for putting so much work into it. Everyone should pos-bang for the effort.