I just can't see Dymonte staying at nickleback past this year. He's incredibly talented, but I think that spot will go to Peppers his freshman year, and Crawford the year after that. I have a feeling that we're going to see incredibly talented freshmen filling that role year after year. Hoke uber alles.
I actually do make my way over there occasionally. I mainly like to get mainstream opinions from other fan bases. That being said, I never comment and only ever find myself there when traffic on MGoBlog, 247, and TTB are all slow. Some of the posters over there are insightful, and some are just plain idiotic. I have noticed the lack of Michigan presence before. Graham (one of the creators) and Brian (not our Brian) are supposedly their Michigan contributors, but neither knows as much about the team as anyone regularly reading this site. Nobody bothers to put the hordes of idiot Spartan fans over there in their place when they start to spew trash about Hoke negatively recruiting, et cetera. I always feel like I've been slumming when I get done over here and always come back here to wash off the dumb.
Yes, Magnus, but when your two choices are, " The Lions were unprepared and foolish," or "The Lions made a rational and well-meaning decision," which are you really going to assume?
I absolutely love posts like these. Thank you for putting this together. I was at the game and I remember that play, and I remember thinking, "Somebody messed up there." Still, live it's next to impossible to pick out who. This is points out perfectly that Miller made a poor play and that our linebackers are unreal. So excited to watch this defence come fall. :-)
That was eloquently stated and exceptionally insightful. My friends that don't follow sports always ask me why I get so upset when my team loses. "It's all about perspective," I tell them. If it doesn't hurt when you lose, how can you enjoy a win? It's what makes sports great amd we're really lucky to have teams worth caring about, made up of upstanding individuals worth cheering for.
Don't change a thing. I love your writing style and input and I don't have a twitter, so TWIT is my idiot fix each week. :)
And p.s., while we're kind of on the topic, I just got done reading the post down bitching and I love your stuff too, Seth. :)
Love this piece each week. I don't have a twitter account, and get all my twitter vicariously though mgoblog. Thanks for putting this out BiSB, your personal spin is great.
Founder's Imperial Stout. And I have two bottles of Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA. Nirvana in a bottle, but I have a rule not to drink it mad. A beer like that should only ever be enjoyed. :-)
I wanted to mention, I really liked both these diaries. Thanks for putting them up. I agree, I really think the schedule is our friend. I'm excited, because I really think we win at home tomorrow and I like our odds to beat Wisconsin on the road.
So you want him to ride the bench all game? He's the only player on the team that has shown the ability to consistently get yards on the ground, and he still can't throw the ball. Where the hell did you want him?
I have to agree with the OP on the hit. The DB didn't launch himself, he didn't lead with his helmet, hell, it looks to me like the only reason the hit looks as bad as it does is because of the incredible inertia Vernon Davis brings with him. The safety came in under control and laid his shoulder pads into the ball and separated man from ball. That looks textbook to me, and as safe as a hit in the NFL can be.
This team took the best game offensively and defensively that OSU had played all year and only lost by five points in Columbus. Miller went 14/18 trough the air for pete's sakes and the he had three throw aways by my count. He had his best game ever, ala Denard last year. Meanwhile, we're still playing at a disadvantage in talent levels. Someone at OTE did a breakdown this year of recruit rankings for current starters on the top B1G teams. OSU is rolling with mostly 4* kids on the field while we're starting with a majority of 3*s. I'm really looking forward to hosting them next year with a rebuilt offensively line that will have started a whole season together at that point and a senior quarterback with a whole season of starts under his belt. I'm optimistic.
I wouldn't remove the Purdue game. The Purdue defence was stellar against OSU up until Braxton's injury and held him to almost nothing on the ground. He doesn't get injured and Kenny Guiton doesn't come in late, I think Purdue wins that game.
The, "see ya, we never wanted you anyway," responses here are really sad. As a fan base, I'd like to think we're better than this. The coaches obviously wanted him, or they wouldn't have offered. Let's be proud of our coaching staff and their ability to evaluate talent, and this excited for our class regardless of rankings. This young man isn't even old enough to vote. Why get so upset over any decision he makes? Would I like to see him come to Michigan? Absolutely. He seems like a very talented young man. Do I want him to keep to a commitment that would make him miserable for four years? Absolutely not. That would end poorly for both Michigan and Conley.
I really like our chances. Good linbacker play has been what truly slowed down the michigan offence this year and they just don't have it. I love the resurgence in the passing game, and as long as Devin doesn't make any awful mistakes and we kind find a little room to run the ball, I think we score almost at will.
Defensively, I know that everyone is freaking out over what Northwestern was able to do, but both the option teams that really moved the ball on us had speedsters at the tailback position and OSU does not. They have a very good power back in Carlos Hyde, and if he's anything like Le'Veon Bell, we've proven we can handle a back like him. I expect Desmond Morgan to have a great day thumping him at the LOS for little to no gain. Braxton will get his, he always does, and I expect them to score a few, but in the end, I think our defence forces a couple field goals where theirs gives up touchdowns.
Final score: 42-34, good guys. Eerily reminiscent of last years game.
Of course, if somebody starts turning the ball over left and right or, god forbid, somebody gets hurt than this all goes out the window and I have no clue what'll happen.
All I could think as they played this over and over again on ESPN was how glad I am Brady Hoke shows a proper professionalism and respect to his position. He's a fantastic ambassador of the university.
They didn't look all that unbeatable today against a rather average Badger D. They stopped Miller running the ball and he really couldn't take advantage with his arm. I have to feel like our defense is significantly better than Wisconsin's. Transitive property and all, but compare our showing against Nebraska (scoring drives of 2 and 5 yards) against theirs. Similar offenses when you compare them and OSU. Good running backs, excellent running quarterbacks, and a deep threat at reciever. OSU did way less against Wisconsin than Nebraska did, and I think we did a stellar job against their offense (it was a one possession game in the fourth quarter while our offense was, for lack of a better word, offensive). I have to believe we stand a really good chance of stymying their O. (Furthermore, I love our new offense and expect we score 40+ on their incredibly suspect defense.) :)
I love what the offence has looked like these past few weeks. My one complaint from Lloyd's offences was the lack of a downfield passing game even though we regularly had better athletes at WR and QB than almost any of our opponents. I love that we continue to challenge deep and hope to see even more as we continue to upgrade at multiple positions talent-wise.
To your accusation that Hoke isn't all that bright. A lot of what you said in your previous posts could have been said politely without attacks at posters or coaches and gotten your point across with greater aplomb. The fact of the matter is that Hoke, from what I can see, is a frickin' genius. What greater measure of a man's worth than the people he surrounds himself with and his ability to know his own capabilities. Brady Hoke has surrounded himself with amazing coaches (Greg Mattison is generally regarded as one of the best coaches in his position ever. Mallory, and the job he has done with the secondary. Montgomery, and his work, not only with the defensive line but also on the recruiting trail.) He knows what he does well. Hell, fans from other schools keep telling us what a dweeb he is because he doesn't wear a headset. Seriously? He does that so that he can spend more time paying attention to the kids. And that's really the heart of his greatness. Brady Hoke is more interested in turning kids into good men. And that is something that cannot be said of your so called geniuses like Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly. Men whose players continously show themselves to be thugs without respect (untold arrests at Florida/kneeing a cop by Rees.) Hell, your example of Urban Meyer, how well can you really know yourself if you can't let go of the game long enough to ensure your own health? That's your measure of brilliance? That's what you consider bright? I would rather have Brady Hoke than Urban Meyer literally every day of the week and it isn't even close. Watch it unfold. Urban Meyer will have his success at Ohio State. Briefly. He's never spent more than five years at a school and I wouldn't expect him to spend too much more time at OSU, no matter what their homers say about decades of championships. Meanwhile, Brady Hoke is building a program we can be proud of for years to come. Please stick around. It should be very exciting.
I totally told a friend earlier this week that I'd like to see Denard utilized in that fashion. As long as he can hold the ball, he's really one of the scariest players out there and our only credible rushing threat.
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What have you done!??!?!?!?!?!!?
http://xkcd.com/1013/
Great article, Seth. Your work lately (and the work of the team as a whole) has been phenomenal. Thank you.
I wanted to mention, I really liked both these diaries. Thanks for putting them up. I agree, I really think the schedule is our friend. I'm excited, because I really think we win at home tomorrow and I like our odds to beat Wisconsin on the road.
This team took the best game offensively and defensively that OSU had played all year and only lost by five points in Columbus. Miller went 14/18 trough the air for pete's sakes and the he had three throw aways by my count. He had his best game ever, ala Denard last year. Meanwhile, we're still playing at a disadvantage in talent levels. Someone at OTE did a breakdown this year of recruit rankings for current starters on the top B1G teams. OSU is rolling with mostly 4* kids on the field while we're starting with a majority of 3*s. I'm really looking forward to hosting them next year with a rebuilt offensively line that will have started a whole season together at that point and a senior quarterback with a whole season of starts under his belt. I'm optimistic.
I really like our chances. Good linbacker play has been what truly slowed down the michigan offence this year and they just don't have it. I love the resurgence in the passing game, and as long as Devin doesn't make any awful mistakes and we kind find a little room to run the ball, I think we score almost at will.
Defensively, I know that everyone is freaking out over what Northwestern was able to do, but both the option teams that really moved the ball on us had speedsters at the tailback position and OSU does not. They have a very good power back in Carlos Hyde, and if he's anything like Le'Veon Bell, we've proven we can handle a back like him. I expect Desmond Morgan to have a great day thumping him at the LOS for little to no gain. Braxton will get his, he always does, and I expect them to score a few, but in the end, I think our defence forces a couple field goals where theirs gives up touchdowns.
Final score: 42-34, good guys. Eerily reminiscent of last years game.
Of course, if somebody starts turning the ball over left and right or, god forbid, somebody gets hurt than this all goes out the window and I have no clue what'll happen.
That drive chart is sexy. You mind if I borrow it for a moment? ;)
Dude, a kid died, man. I know we don't like rival coaches and all that, but witty one-liners about things that are just tragic, are still tragic.
They didn't look all that unbeatable today against a rather average Badger D. They stopped Miller running the ball and he really couldn't take advantage with his arm. I have to feel like our defense is significantly better than Wisconsin's. Transitive property and all, but compare our showing against Nebraska (scoring drives of 2 and 5 yards) against theirs. Similar offenses when you compare them and OSU. Good running backs, excellent running quarterbacks, and a deep threat at reciever. OSU did way less against Wisconsin than Nebraska did, and I think we did a stellar job against their offense (it was a one possession game in the fourth quarter while our offense was, for lack of a better word, offensive). I have to believe we stand a really good chance of stymying their O. (Furthermore, I love our new offense and expect we score 40+ on their incredibly suspect defense.) :)
I love what the offence has looked like these past few weeks. My one complaint from Lloyd's offences was the lack of a downfield passing game even though we regularly had better athletes at WR and QB than almost any of our opponents. I love that we continue to challenge deep and hope to see even more as we continue to upgrade at multiple positions talent-wise.
To your accusation that Hoke isn't all that bright. A lot of what you said in your previous posts could have been said politely without attacks at posters or coaches and gotten your point across with greater aplomb. The fact of the matter is that Hoke, from what I can see, is a frickin' genius. What greater measure of a man's worth than the people he surrounds himself with and his ability to know his own capabilities. Brady Hoke has surrounded himself with amazing coaches (Greg Mattison is generally regarded as one of the best coaches in his position ever. Mallory, and the job he has done with the secondary. Montgomery, and his work, not only with the defensive line but also on the recruiting trail.) He knows what he does well. Hell, fans from other schools keep telling us what a dweeb he is because he doesn't wear a headset. Seriously? He does that so that he can spend more time paying attention to the kids. And that's really the heart of his greatness. Brady Hoke is more interested in turning kids into good men. And that is something that cannot be said of your so called geniuses like Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly. Men whose players continously show themselves to be thugs without respect (untold arrests at Florida/kneeing a cop by Rees.) Hell, your example of Urban Meyer, how well can you really know yourself if you can't let go of the game long enough to ensure your own health? That's your measure of brilliance? That's what you consider bright? I would rather have Brady Hoke than Urban Meyer literally every day of the week and it isn't even close. Watch it unfold. Urban Meyer will have his success at Ohio State. Briefly. He's never spent more than five years at a school and I wouldn't expect him to spend too much more time at OSU, no matter what their homers say about decades of championships. Meanwhile, Brady Hoke is building a program we can be proud of for years to come. Please stick around. It should be very exciting.
BiSB, you're a delight. It's a shame you won't be on as much anymore.