JUST LEAVE ALREADY
bigstick
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Recent Comments
| Date | Title | Body |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year 2 weeks ago | Recognized? |
First, congratulations for both getting into and completing the GRFSPP program. It is a fine accomplishment, and I wish you the best of luck in the future. Now, about that recognition..... Please help me to understand which of GRF's accomplishments you believe deserve recognition. Could it be the Nixon pardon? Maybe the fact that he's the only US President never to have been elected to the office of president or vice president? Perhaps it was an utterly undistinguished multi-decade career as a US representative particularly notable, if memory serves, as having passed without GRF having introduced a single piece of legislation? Sorry to piss in your cheerios on this one, but we honor GRF because he was a US President (if only for two years) and a U-M alum. I realize you weren't alive to remember, but GRF became president specifically because of his lack of accomplishments. GRF never did anything and, consequently, never did anything to piss anyone off. He was a great team player, so you could always count on him to do what he was told. And this is specifically why Nixon chose him to replace Agnew (at least it's "specifically why" not counting the speculation in the next paragraph). Easily confirmed, non-confrontational, not controversial. The Watergate break-in occurred in Jun 1972. Nixon kept Agnew as his VP (despite his widely-reported preference for Connolly) and they were re-elected in Nov 1972. Agnew resigned in disgrace in Oct 1973, leading to GRF's appointment. Why GRF and not Connolly, Nixon's presumed hand-picked successor? Well, some speculate that Nixon wanted a VP in place who would pardon him if Watergate went further south, and Connolly might not have been that guy. Watergate did go further south, and Nixon resigned in Aug 1974. GRF didn't disappoint and pardoned Nixon a month later in Sep 1974. There are many of us who lived through that time that consider the Nixon pardon as one of our country's darkest days. It raised fears that the president is, practically speaking, above the law. Echos of GRF's decision can be seen in the Reagan, GHWB, Clinton, and W administrations, and the reverberations will be felt for a long time to come. Yes, GRF's presidency should be remembered - so that his most important decision can be undone at the first opportunity and never repeated. Recognized or honored? Not so much. I wouldn't have taken the time for the historical summary if you weren't so young. (Hey, my oldest daughter is a 2011 U-M grad. That's young, to me.) And please note that this is not a red state/blue state issue. It's about "the process". If you've carefully studied GRF's career and conclude that he was a great man worthy of recognition, I'll respect your position and respectfully disagree. But please understand that many of us worry about knee-jerk reactions that can be summarized as: "Yea, U-M alum", "Yea, President", "USA, USA", etc. The absence of information, study, and critical thought pushes us closer to........Ohio. :-) |
| 1 year 8 weeks ago | What? |
Four of 14 games over 150 yards is "not bad"? And four of 14 games under 100 yards is "not bad"? AFTER you add back sacks? We, sir, need to compare definitions. I'm worried that, in your next post, you'll describe Rosie O'Donnell as "not bad". :-)
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| 1 year 8 weeks ago | Bravo... |
....from one man who, like you, personally watched everything you described. |
| 1 year 19 weeks ago | I am an oddity... |
..an old, blue-haired, alum who supported RR. And I still found this to be one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. I laughed my ass off. Thanks! |
| 1 year 19 weeks ago | Here's one.... |
Rodriguez did not have to "go yesterday". He should only be gone if (and it's looking like a big IF right now), DB had a better choice in place. Keeping RR and changing the defensive staff was always a viable option. Releasing RR and replacing him with JH or another solid choice ("solid" as determined by DB, not us) was also a perfectly fine option. However, it's beginning to look like DB not only didn't have a replacement lined-up, he didn't even have a fully-vetted list. Why do I say this? Because if he did, he would have pulled the trigger by now (unless his choice is working for one of the 6 teams still playing as of Friday night). DB can't sell Hoke as his #2 choice (assuming JH was #1) any longer, because Hoke would have taken the job last Wednesday. Similarly, DB can't sell guys like Wittingham (Utah) or most of the coordinators tossed around as his #2 choice because they were all available on Wed. UNLESS he signs someone with a post-Jan 4 bowl game, this doesn't look good for DB. It looks like he went into this situation - perhaps the most important decision he will make as AD - unprepared, without a plan, and having to settle for leftovers. And if he does sign someone with a post-Jan 4 bowl game, one has to wonder why he didn't wait to dismiss RR until he was ready to name a new coach. Waiting would have helped on so many levels. This is not good brand management. There is one possible exception to this and that's the scenario Mgrowold described. I've speculated on this scenario with other old, blue-haired, alum, contributor friends - RR had to go only if he balked at the removal of all of his defensive staff (including, and perhaps especially, his best friend T Gibson). In that case, RR certainly had to go. But DB should have been able to refer to his long list of well-vetted candidates in that case - most of which he was confident would be interested and all of which he knew how much he'd need to spend to get them. Any thing else is not a good job by DB, regardless of how it turns out. |
| 1 year 19 weeks ago | Your argument is appealing.. |
..but it has a serious flaw. When you, I, or DB develop our ranked list of successor coaches, RR with a new defensive staff is on that list, somewhere - maybe #2, maybe #12, maybe #112 - but that choice is on the list. Dropping RR was not a given. Taking serious action was absolutely necessary. Most everyone would have been satisfied with a reorganized staff; a new, "name", DC (like Shannon or the Miss St guy, for example); and a dedicated ST coach. (If this option was given to RR - and he declined it - well, then, good riddance, I guess). If you interview RR on Tues, fire him on Wed, and hire JH on Thurs - it's clear that you're prepared and have a plan that everyone can support. If JH stiffs you at the last minute, you can move to the next one on the list. No problem. But that's not what's happening here. DB reminded the world on Wed about his business experience; the importance of succession planning; and how he would be a one-person search committee. Then, on Fri, he's reportedly hiring a search firm? Where's the succession list containing already fully-vetted candidates? Where are the estimates of the likelihood of each coach to accept and the $$$ it will take close the deal? Where's the plan? On Wed at 2pm, Hoke would have crawled through the phone lines from San Diego to take the job. If we end up with Hoke now, it's clear that Hoke wasn't #2, #3, #4, etc. on DB's list. Which means that, as each moment passes, it's becoming even more clear that either DB never had a list or that he has seriously misjudged everyone on that list. That's not leadership - that's bumbling. There are only a handful of coaches (16?) that had post-Jan 1 bowl games. When you look at that list you can quickly eliminate Tressel; Edsall; Petrino; Sherman; the Pitt, MTSU, and Miami coaches, etc as candidates. If DB hires one of the <9 remaining coaches, then we can credit him with having a plan. If DB hires anyone else, anyone who was available on Wed, Jan 6, then it looks an awful lot like he was not prepared and didn't have a plan. And if he ultimately hires Clem McGillicutty (OC at I-AAAA Little Sisters of the Poor), or another up-and-coming longshot, DB is going to have a difficult time explaining why this reach is preferable to keeping RR with a new defensive staff and at least allowing RR an opportunity to work with a few upperclasssmen. |
| 1 year 19 weeks ago | It seems that.... |
....32 out of 32 NFL teams are equally skeptical. Let's role play..... 1. I'm any NFL head coach or executive at any time during the past decade, up to today. 2. Brady is arguably the best NFL QB (maybe the best NFL player) of the past decade 3. I just spent a top draft choice (rd 1-3) and big money on a new QB 4. I need the best QB coach around to develop my new QB 5. I go to the best QB in the NFL - Brady - and ask who helped him. (This is incredibly easy to do because I'm an NFL head coach or executive.) 6. Brady raves about Loeffler and says that, even as a GA, Loeffler did more to develop him than his QB coach. 7. I immediately call Loeffler and offer him the job of developing my new QB at 2x-4x whatever he was making - which is a pittance compared to what I've already invested in my new QB and a nero zero delta over what I'm paying my current QB coach. Now, here's some critical thinkin' for ya...... Steps 1-4 have actually happened 10-20 times in the past decade. Why haven't Steps 5-7 happened? Here are some of the possible answers to that question: (a) every single NFL head coach and executive involved in these 10-20 instances is a complete f'n idiot; (b) Step 6 isn't really true, it's an exaggeration of the facts. As Joe Pesci said in the pool hall (My Cousin Vinny), "I think I'll take (b)". Some more critical thinkin' exercises: Why didn't the Lions keep Loeffler and his widely-reknowned talent to coach their latest billion dollar QB - Matt Stafford? They were changing the entire coaching staff at the time, so it wouldn't have been difficult to keep him. Didn't they recognize Scot's talent with young, franchise QBs? Once the Lions passed on Loeffler, how did the other 31 NFL teams miss him? We know how Florida fans feel about Brantley, but how do they feel about Tebow's progress during his senior season under Loeffler? Why wasn't Denver interested in keeping the "team" together in the hopes of turing Tebow into the next Brady? Let's keep an eye out for the next QB developed by Scot. I'll meet you back here, but I won't hold my breath. BTW, you should be careful on these message boards. You'd be surprised by who you might be chatting with and who they might know that could have been "involved in the situation".
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| 1 year 19 weeks ago | ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ This |
I'll bring the pitchforks.....let's meet at Pizza Bob's. |
| 1 year 20 weeks ago | The Florida bio....and some of the posters here... |
...are VERY generous to Loeffler. Facts often help, so here are the facts: Loeffler was a UM freshman QB in 1993. He was on the roster in 1994 and 1995, but he suffered a playing-career-ending injury; justifiably received one of those "medical scholarships" we all talk about; and continued with the team as a STUDENT assistant in 1996 and 1997. Griese was also a UM freshman (walk-on) QB in 1993. He and Loeffler were CLASSMATES as well as teammates. Brady joined the team in 1995 (redshirt); didn't play in 1996 and 1997; then started in 1998 and 1999. Loeffler was Brady's teammate the first year, a student assistant during Brady's second and third years, and a graduate assistant during Brady's last two years. Now, if you believe that teammates, student assistants and graduate assistants deserve credit for developing QBs over, say, the actual QB coach, actual offensive coordinator, and actual head coach - then have at it. Give Loeffler all the credit you possibly can for developing Griese and Brady. I think it's a stretch - a very big stretch probably measured in AUs or even light years - but what the heck do I know. Loeffler left for CMU with DeBord for 2000 and 2001. I'll save you the trouble of looking up the QBs that were developed there during that time. None. Loeffler returned to UM for Navarre's junior and senior seasons in 2002 and 2003 (after Navarre had been coached by Stan Parrish for three years). Did Navarre get better? Yeah, probably. Did he get so much better that he developed into a solid NFL QB as did many of his predecessors? No. That doesn't mean that Loeffler did a bad job with Navarre, but it also doesn't mean that he did a great job developing Navarre. It was Parrish who had the track record of developing NFL-ready QBs - not Loeffler. Loeffler recruited Henne to UM and coached him all four years (2004-2007). He deserves full credit for Henne's development. Loeffler also deserves full credit for convincing Mallett that UM was a better fit than playing behind Mustain at Arkansas. Loeffler took a place-holder job as QB coach of the Lions and its lame-duck coaching staff in 2008, then joined Florida for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. If you saw development in Tebow as a senior in 2009, then Loeffler deserves some credit for that. As one of the other posters said, above, Bentley didn't develop much in 2010. These facts lead many to the conclusion that Loeffler has a solid record as a recruiter, but not much of a track record as a coach. Henne and Mallett were big-time recruiting catches. Loeffler's been around big-name players, but really hasn't been around anyone but Henne long enough to prove he can develop them as QBs. In re: Brady's and Griese's comments about help from Loeffler: Brady (an NFL MVP) and Griese (a successful NFL QB) say nice things and write nice letters about a classmate, teammate, and friend in an effort to help said friend recruit NFL-caliber players to their common alma mater. Are those comments true? Or are they just the kind of nice thing that anyone is happy to do for their friends - especially when it just might help your college team get better players. You decide. |
| 1 year 20 weeks ago | Actually... |
All that man did was recruit and coach Henne....unless you count the fact that he took over for Stan Parrish and coached Navarre for two years. Maybe that's enough? |
