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Well, Not Really

Fair point.  But it's not that I think nobody can criticize Brandon or Hoke (full disclosure -- I was against hiring a .500 coach at the time, and said to my family room during the Minny game and the injury debacle -- "I think he might be fired for this" -- it's just the moral certainty and jumping on every single thing.  People are mostly talking through their hats.  But very insistently.  Mobs can sometimes be good, but this really is a mob sort of thing going on.    

 

What I Love Most

What I love most is everyone offering opinions on things that they literally have no idea about.  It's like being able to sit a row behind that guy at games, but not leave your den.

I'm not even saying that everyone is wrong.  Sometimes you sti behind a guy who says really interesting things.  It's just the bloviating by a bunch of people who have never been involved in a major college sports or football program.  Awesome!  You guys do get the echo chamber part about all of this, right?  

Fair point.

Fair point.

Sucking

You know what's really surprising about this game so far? How much most of you suck, based on the comments throughout. I've never seen a bigger bunch of old women.

Tradition

Yes, it is important to remember that no Michigan jersey was ever worn for the first time.  Every Michigan jersey has always been worn, from time immemorial.  Same with our helmets.  They always have looked that way.  Even the first time they were worn, they always looked that way.

Anyone who says different is just out to make a fast buck. 

Geographic Diversity

Maybe CNN should hire someone from Texas -- it's a common name there, and the name of one of the bigger grocery store chains. 

I stopped reading...

...at the "Jew tears" reference.   

Gulp

Oops, sorry, I was comparing some still in-progress quarter final matchups with semi-final matchups.  So, unfortunately I am for real but not real smart on this one. 

BTT Question

Sorry if this has already been asked, but in the Big Ten Tournament, why does the #4 team (UM) get the #1 team (tOSU), while the lower ranked teams (e.g., MSU) get lower ranked teams.  Doesn't that not make any sense? 

Former Players Need to Support

Assuming it's true that former players didn't really support RR (I don't know that that's true, but that seems to be the consensus from reading this Board)...

I hope those same former players would make it a point to return to campus to talk to the current players and encourage them to stay.  (I'm assuming that that's all consistent with NCAA rules...)

I'm also hoping that one of the many Michigan players that will be starting playoff games this weekend make a point of identifying themselves as Michigan players and give Hoke a shoutout.  Don't know if the players will care about that, but it will make the Boards go wild.

How Can You Not Love Mike Hart?

From the ESPN article on Bill Martin's reaction:

Mike Hart isn't in Ann Arbor anymore, keeping busy as an Indianapolis Colts running back, but he has followed the once-proud program closely since his senior year coincided with Carr's last season.

"Rich Rod didn't have a chance because no one agreed with the hire from the top to the bottom of the school and all over town," Hart said. "I'm going to be 100 percent behind whoever the coach at Michigan is and I hope everybody that loves Michigan is the same way, too, even if they don't like who Dave Brandon hires."

I Only Have Two Things to Say About These Highlights

And neither of them are about Mallett.

The.

Worm.  

(check out the end of the video, of course)

Mallett's Freshman Year

I don't know if it's true or not, but I always got the sense watching Mallett on the sideline that people didn't like him.

Not sure I've ever seen a quarterback throw the ball harder, though.  

Nostalgia

This is not an original thought, but remember the good old bad old days, when the hot recruiting news was when you saw a Freshman in a Michigan uniform, which suggested that at some point the previous year he had committed?

WTF

Have these people never been to sports banquet nights before?

RR's speech was completely appropriate for it, and consistent with the tone at these things.  I would have thought that the team ate it up (even if some of the supporters thought it juvenile (which of course is a ridiculous thing to be when you deal with 17-22 year old athletes all year)).

Clarifying question

Double rainbows?

Question

Does anyone have any speculation as to why Ohio State is spending so much more than everybody else?

(I can think of some obvious joke responses, but what's the real answer?)

Source

Huffington Post as the source for a breaking news story?

Um, no. 

Too Soon

So, I am in no way criticizing the OP for posting this, but...

For me, this is way too early.  I also don't care what we're ranked to begin the season.  I'm more than a little interesting in what we're ranked to end the season.

After the last two seasons, I'm also uninterested in what we're ranked after 6 games of last season, other than to the extent it obviously impacts what we're ranked to end the season.  I'll start paying attention to our record/rankings, other than as a means to an end, after about 9 games next year.  

Related

I lived in London for six years in the late 90s, and used to get the games sent to me from some outfit in Zurich.  They would arrive on a Tuesday, so I had to make it from Saturday until Tuesday without finding out what happened.  Everyone in my office knew about it-- some would be sure not to tell me anything, some would be sure to taunt me by telling completely outlandish stories or pretending to give me hints, but in a way that wouldn't let me draw any conclusions from the fake hints.

But there were always people who couldn't resist saying things to me like, "I'm not going to tell you what happened, but you're going to be really, really happy."  Or, and I still remember this one, after the Virginia game, telling me, "I'm not going to tell you what happened, but be sure to watch the very last play of the game, you'll be happy you did."  For some reason, I was very relaxed entering the fourth quarter of that game.  

Mandich

There's a lot to admire and emulate here, but given many of the recent posts, I found the end of the article particularly interesting.

Think/Hope/Expect

Let me admit that I am not a very objective or critical fan.  Since I was 6 I have demonstrated the ability with UM football to ignore any and all problems and be somewhat mystified when, whatever their record, their not voted #1 or invited to the BCS championship game.  Maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit.

But here's kind of what I think/hope/expect re RichRod (keeping in mind I'm unable to be too critical of the team).

I think that RichRod is an offensive genius.

I hope that the failures of the defense this year will have scared him to death, as he realizes that he could actually be fired for a bad defense.

I expect that next year, and for every year thereafter, he will not overlook the defense, or overlook the necessity of having the right defensive staff/personnel/recruiting, and our defense will never be this bad again.  

Big

I want bigger, against a team that got to the big bowl with defense, not offense.  I'd rather have our offense face a challenge than our defense face a challenge.

I also want a team that got to the big bowl even more by reputation than by talent.  Beating a big name looks good, even on an off-year.

But, when push comes to shove, we're a big bowl team, not a small bowl team (or, ahem, a no bowl team). 

The Rob Lytle story made me

The Rob Lytle story made me realize something about Michigan football, and its role in, let's face it, all of our lives.

I'm a lawyer at one of the world's largest law firms, in my mid-40s, and occupy a position of some responsibility I guess.  

And yet, in a meeting about three weeks ago, while someone was droning on fairly endlessly, I listed the initials of every UM QB that I can remember seeing play (not subs, I'm talking about QBs who started at least once), and later confirmed that I did so successfully starting with Denis Franklin.  I was alive for some others, but I only listed the ones that I personally remember in person.    

Not sure what that really means, other than that I would not have imagined when I was a kid that this is what lawyers did during apparently important meetings.  My guess is that many of you have had similar experiences, when the juxtaposition of your role as fan has come up against the "reality" of some of your other roles.  And the Lytle story is that kind of thing also, where we remember them as players of a certain age, but of course all those other players age along with the rest of us.  Okay, enough ridiculous maudlin thoughts..

Voting

Since we seem to be voting on the subject, I'm going to vote for two different things:

1.  We beat OSU.

2.  Penn State beats MSU. 

Actually...

Actually, a Mike Hart was a 3-star thread is completely worth being posted, because:

1.  It makes him more awesome.

2.  It reminds us of his awesomeness.

3.  We need to be reminded of his awesomeness more.

4.  Everyone should now go re-watch a game with Hart in it.  The guy just cannot be tackled on the first three contacts, no matter how hard those first three contacts are.  It's absolutely ridiculous.  

A USC Comparison

I'm probably going to get this slightly wrong, but it's basically right, and I offer it as food for thought (although I'm not entirely sure where it takes us):

Since 1983, USC has had three losing seasons and four .500 seasons -- so, this was after their arguable dominance of the 70s, but before their most recent dominance.

On the one hand, we can take the last two years as rebuilding, and not despair because there is still a chance that we're heading for a brighter future. On the other hand, I think it is correct to say that USC's losing and .500 seasons came with coaches that then got fired, and the dominance came with a new coach.

(Full disclosure -- I think RR has done more than enough to merit another year, although he has to get a new DC who he gives nearly complete independence.  And it has to be the right DC (and I think GERG was OBVIOUSLY not the right DC when he was selected).)

Deep Philosophical Debate

Ah, the deep philosophical question that seems to torment Michigan fans (probably every other fan base too).  I've heard another UM fan say it this way during the Carr years -- he wants a National Championship at least once a decade.  If he gets that, he doesn't care what happens during the other nine years.

Other fans (I think I'm in this group) wants to be "competitive" every year.  Not really sure what "competitive" means.  For Michigan, I think it means a Big 10 Championship about every other year, a Bowl game every year, and a BCS Bowl game 2 out of every 3 years, or something like that. It probably also means one "off" year a decade, which means (I hate to say it given our current record because I don't mean it as a criticism of the current team or coaching staff), 8-5.

Isn't that about where we've been other than the last three years during my lifetime?  (since 1965)?  (and, again, that isn't a criticism of the last three years, or an attempt to introduce the "who's to blame" question into this thread.)

I hate to say it, but...

I don't agree with your conclusion, because I think the team is improving and that the ability to create an offense like this one comes very rarely.  Which leads me to think that RR can potentially be the kind of coach that delivers championships.  I mean, I know that it's easier said than done, and it's stupid to play "what if" games, but "what if" we can get a defense together that is the 50th best defense in the nation>  Combined with this offense?  How about the 75th best defense?  (I'll bet someone has already memorized the stats that would predict our record with this offense and the 75th best defense...)

That said, I hate to say it because I disagree with you, but you make a good point here.  Still doesn't make me agree with your conclusion for the reasons stated above, but this is a good point.  I hope the coaches are thinking about how to change these results about 20 hours every day.  Assuming the NCAA allows that kind of thinking, that is.  

If...

I don't know if he's already decided, but I have to say that if he had already decided, I would have thought that he'd have announced it definitively -- that kind of announcement is nothing but good for the program, and the uncertainty is nothing but bad for the program.

So, while I have no idea what the "smart AD" move would be, I think it probably would be consistent with the paragraph above.  Which leads me to think that he hasn't already decided "he's coming back," because if he had he'd have announced it.  But maybe he knows that everyone knows that, so he can't announce it, because that would mean that a non-announcement next year at this time of the season if there were any uncertainty would let everyone know that he's gone.  The old Romanian Pensioner scam.  (I just made that up because "Spanish Prisoner" was taken.)

Outsmarted by Brandon again.

Roster Count

Also, I really loved Carr, don't get me wrong, and it doesn't look like there were 21 defensive players on the roster, but I counted 28.  That's not all that great either, is it?  And 9 of them are freshmen.

I'm not a big fan of bashing Carr or Rodriguez -- they are both Michigan coaches, and I don't really get the point.  But it does seem like our senior defensive class is missing.  

Bad Fans

Just read the Kovacs post, and the taunting of the kickers, etc.

Talk about making my head explode.  

 

This is a good post.

 

This is a good post.  It's true, we're a feast or famine crowd.  And a pretty hysterical feast or famine crowd.

We're young on offense and we're pretty good on offense already.  We're young on defense, and we're pretty bad on defense right now.  We'll get better even if only with age and experience, but we'll also get better because we'll get more and more able bodies in there over time, as we get more recruiting classes in.  Would I like to see a new DC?  Yeah, I have to admit, I would.  I think it would have made some difference this year if we had a stud DC, but not much.

I also think we don't need a top 10 defense.  We need a top 60 defense  

I generally think Brandon should say definitively, right now, that RRod is coming back.  I think it will help recruiting.  It couldn't hurt recruiting, that's for sure.  

We're 8-4.  Whether that's where we thought we would be or not, that's not awful.  Or, to put it another way, if 8-4 is our awful year, I'll take it, because I think we have a shot at some better years.  I hate playing the what if game, and we got crushed today, but if we made the FG in the first half, we were one stop away from having the ball with a chance to tie the game.

So, instead of moaning, which I'm sure the team and its coaches is not doing, what they really need to do is figure out a way to make a FG and get a stop. 

Misreading

To be honest, I thought the subject line of this post meant that in overtime ("OT"), they would use only one endzone -- that is, they wouldn't switch sides. 

Just read the ESPN article though for the correct reading.  This is really, really strange.  But it has to be the right choice given the safety concerns.  Although, I wonder how much it would have cost for the single game to change the physical infrastructure enough to give some space behind the end zone?

And, as others have pointed out, it's not like the endzone they are using is actually so safe...

Request

Please never post anything like this again.

I prefer my pre-existing opinions of the school, the team, and the coach. 

CORRECTION

Okay, thanks to some of the others who made me realize I seriously didn't know what I was talking about re Clemons -- just read an article re the F***p BS and his involvement in it.  I won't waste any energy wishing him ill (I mean, after all, he's now playing for Colorado so he got his, and the NCAA investigation revealed that he was lying in his public comments), but I was wrong in thinking he left the right way.  Maybe not as fundamentally and horribly wrong as the other guy we'll see in two weeks, but still...

Also glad to see that the guy I thought I was thinking about was Vlad Emilien.  If for no other reason than his name is Vlad Emilien, and that can't be anything but good.  

Huh, I hadn't realized that,

Huh, I hadn't realized that, thanks.  Never mind, then.  I thought I remembered someone going to Colorado, or wanting to go to Colorado, that RR seemed to express good feelings about.  Must have been someone else.  Maybe I just hate the other guy so much that I don't really care about anyone else.  

Bo Quote

You got me.  I can honestly say that as I was reading the Bo quote, I was literally thinking to myself, "Gee, I really wish RichRod had said this in a nicer way, because it seems awfully rude to the people who left."  I mean, I wasn't upset about it, but thought he could have been a bit nicer.  Than I saw it was Bo.  Good one.  

Also, does anyone else remember a speech (well, a video of a speech) of a captain (I think it was Andy Cannavino) who was charged by the team with going into Bo's office and getting him to lighten up a little bit .  At least as the player tells it in the speech, Bo absolutely ripped into the captain, completely turning the tables on him, and the team turned the season around from that point forward?  I can't remember where I saw it, but I think it was the video of some rubber chicken-type event.  

Awesome Celebration

Since you mentioned Cam Gordon, I feel entitled to say:  I loved his low-key but emphatic touchdown celebration.

And, not to sound like a wuss, but I generally really like the way that all of our players toss the ball to the ref at the end of the play, and run back into the huddle.  I'm also digging the low-key touchdown celebrations where, again, the players toss the ball to the ref and celebrate.  Part of it is the, "yeah we've been in the endzone before and we're coming back soon" aspect of it, and part of it is the " we want to run the next play really quickly aspect of it."

But why do most other players seem to think there is something cool about making the refs run after the ball after plays?  I'd love to see a ref flag some kid standing two feet away from him who insists on tossing the ball to the side rather than handing it to him.  

These Aren't the "Bad" Transfers

I agree -- these are the guys I wish well.  They all seemed like decent guys who left because they wanted to play more (Threet and Clemons), or because they realized they made a mistake moving so far from home in a league that had very large people in it (McGuffie).  They also seemed to leave the "right" way -- respectfully and pretty quietly.  

It's hard to really complain about these guys.

I also have to say once again that there is one person who left, whose father I can remember rooting for as a kid, in a way and to a place that I just can't understand why he wasn't universally condemned for doing something that was really inappropriate and awful, and that was a genuine commentary on his deepest, darkest soul.  If any college sports craziness is at all justifiiable and awesome, than what he did was really and truly beyond the pale.  And I don't understand why more of the media types don't actually say that.  Unfortunately, it coincided with a time that meant he can't really be punished and humiliated for it as he should be.  Unless in two weeks...

Is it wrong for me to admit

Is it wrong for me to admit that I would LOVE it if MSU ends up on the outside looking in at a BCS bowl.

(I hate to say it this way, especially because I am a Newcastle fan in the Premier League, having lived in England for a long time.  Not sure if anyone gets the Kevin Keegan/Alex Ferguson reference -- which did not end up well for Newcastle -- but I won't bore you with the long explanation.)

I'll admit I liked it last year too when, in the pits of our despair and the supposed revival under Dantonio, MSU ended up with one more win than we had.  

Ok very funny.  On a related

Ok very funny.  On a related point, I could have sworn that when the game returned from commercial after Denard throwing a pick six, the ref was on the field saying (as if there had just been a review) that the play remained a touchdown but there was an illegal participation call on the sideline.  Did anyone else hear that on TV?  Anyone at the game that heard that?  What was it all about?

 

I'm assuming that if there really was a kitten sniper, there would have been an illegal participation call on the Vinopal play.  Anyone know the proper ruling on kitten sniping?

Um, has anyone else noticed

Um, has anyone else noticed that Denard is a sophomore in an offense that requires the QB to make a large number of reads, at speed?  Not just pass game reads but running game reads?  Has anyone noticed the production of the offense this year, including in Big 10 games?  It's hard to get too concerned with a single game of poor offense.   Maybe the offense will blow up, but let's see how it plays out for the rest of the season. 

I also have to say, for the plays that weren't executed, they seemed to be there.  But, again, we have a sophomore QB.  I'm not getting all that worried yet.  

Our best RB?

Smith had a great game, but I really thought Lewan had a great game running the ball today.

Without suggesting that the

Without suggesting that the last 2 seasons were good, or that this one is great, when viewed objectively, for the sake of perspective I just want to observe that since 1983, USC has had 4 .500 seasons and 3 losing seasons.  I think our numbers are 1 and 2.

I don't really know what this is meant to prove, other than we should be more grateful for what we have, or more appreciative of how hard it is to win consistently, or more hopeful that we're not all that far off the top again, or yeah things can go from great to awful back to great (and back again) pretty quickly, or something like that.

Or maybe it really doesn't prove anything at all other than that I have too much time on my hands. 

Obi had a fantastic game, and

Obi had a fantastic game, and some good hard hits.

Is it my imagination or are there more subs playing throughout the game on defense?  I think the more players playing has led to a better defensive performance overall.  Not sure if it's causal, or just coaches finally doing a better job utilizing what talent they do have?  

Reality Check

I'm not in any way taking anything for granted, or anything like that.  But, forget about narrowing the great divide or anything like that.  If we win, we're 7-3.  That sounds really good to me.  I'd like our record to be better, but that's a legitimate record after 10 games, if you know what I mean.  Maybe that says more about the last two years than anything else, but still 7-3 seems like something that would be really nice tomorrow afternoon.  

Re-Watching the Game

If you go to ESPN3.com, you can see those last 8 minutes -- the entire game can be replayed. 

Getting Off Blocks

Speaking of getting off blocks, I thought we did a great job of doing that all game. 

How about that Demens play where he took the hit from the blocker, and still managed to string out the play and make the tackle at the sideline?  

Sometimes Big Plays Matter More Than The Rest

Given where this defense has been all year, and the heat they're feeling, etc., etc.

That Avery stop and that Vinopal stop loom much larger than anything else that happened on defense the rest of the game (and in addition to all those points, there were some really, really good things on defense today).

But those two stops were just enormous.  Both because of what they meant for the game but also the extra meaning they have for the fans.

Just goes to show, an aggressive active defense -- even one that's not very good -- is going to keep the fans with them much more than a defense that seems like it's playing passive, to avoid big plays.  I like the former approach, no matter what the result is.  (The Avery touchdown was an example -- I can live with that play, the coverage was pretty good, he reached up with the wrong arm, but he was there.  I'm not saying I don't want him to make a play on the ball, but it's easier to live with that touchdown than the two (TWO!) blown coverages on the other side of the field...)

But I guess my point is:  Loved the Avery stop.  Loved the Vinopal stop.  And loved that we went after them on the two point conversion.