I go even further than focusing on Rich Rod for those disastrous years. Certainly AD Bill Martin should get some of the blame for hiring Rich Rod in the first place. At the time this was considered the most important decision in Bill Martins career and one of the most in Michigan football history.
He was sleeping when Les Miles was available for that small open window of opportunity. Defensive coordinator Bo Pelini was available at the time. So was Ron English and other assistants on the Michigan football staff. Brady Hoke was available. Michigan native and Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz would have probably jumped at the opportunity. All of these candidates would've kept up with the Michigan traditions.
I was shocked and extremely disappointed by todays performance. To save the season I think we might have to tweak it some and be willing to use Gardner similar to the way we used DeRob, just not quite as much. Because he is a better passer than DeRob.
Lets not forget Gardner was the top rated dual threat qb in the country coming out of high school. To expect him to be mainly a pocket passer is not fair to him and not his strength. When Gardner runs it opens up the offense for better passing plays and rb plays.
Sure it is a bigger risk for injury. But since that is his strength then thats the chance we take. Shane Morris is the back up and is a pure pocket passer who would be expected to complete more passes, which eliminates the need for a running qb.
This one is tough to call. You know MSU is going to stack the box on defense to try to prevent DeRob from running rapidly. If you can't pass in a game like this you will not win. If DeRob is able to get the offense moving with some passes, then he'll be able to run because the defense won't be able to stack the box as much.
I've got to give Michigan the edge with the coaching staff. Even if MSU plays more physical and slightly tougher, I feel confident the coaching staff will come up with schemes to counter whatever MSU is doing, including putting the pressure on Cousins. And Hoke will have this team fired up like no other and will not be intimidated by Dantonio's antics.
No doubt. I don't know how he gets away with even having that job. He's a New Yorker who went to MSU. That's all he does is rip Michigan when talking about college football. The thing is almost all the callers are Michigan fans. Valenti doesn't represent the communuty. He needs to go.
Our Michigan women are like a family to me. Same with our Michigan men. When one of our Michigan family members is attacked by an opposing team, newspapers, predators, it affects me.
His salary is done and finished for now. But if he does bring greatness to Michigan, I just want to bring it to everyone's attention that we should pay him the way we woud've paid any other top 5 coach. If we don't it would downgrade Michigan and the coaching position itself at Michigan. It would make Michigan look cheap.
I would have to say yes. Anyone who has done what Hoke has done in this short of time, including the way he carries himself, the honor he brings and the respect he demands, his love for Michigan, his leadership, his taking the fight right to the faces of our rivals, making sure he does all he can to make his players better on the field as well as better men, I have no doubt in my mind we have good reason to be ecstatic.
Hoke will be here a long time, probably until he says he's ready to go. I would say at least 10 years as long as his health holds up and he still wants to do it, maybe even 15 or 20 years if he can do it.. He will demand excellence every year of it too. After that I think we need to make sure he's part of the hiring process if he's still around.
Congratulations on your honeymoon, Brian. I'll never forget on my honeymoon when we went to Hawaii. We were on the island of Hawaii getting a ride from a taxi to the hotel. The driver asked where we were from. I said Michigan and asked where he was from. He said Alaska. He said he had lived in Alaska all his life and where he lived had only 3 hours of daylight everyday. He took a vacation to Hawaii and never went back to Alaska. He just left all his belongings in his apartment in Alaska and that was it. He said he's never been happier in his life and had no plans to ever move back.
And if he does turn this thing around in a few years that would be half as sing it and acting like we just got another dude. We should pay the man top dollar if he takes the fight right back to Dantonio after getting spanked for 3 years, beats Ohio State, and wins Big Ten Championships and gets us to top level BCS games.
Already he's solidified the program in a short amount of time after being in total misery. He's brought back nothing but top credibility to Michigan with Detroit and Ohio reporters. Dantonio has to go out of state because Hoke is getting most of the good locals. Isn't it going to be nice to finally shut up Sparty and make things normal again? He's getting the top rated Ohio recruits who would've gone to OSU. He got a verbal from a possible 5 star in-state qb with one visit, and that was with 2 years of high school remaining.
We had better act like we got a Harbaugh or Saban if Hoke makes us champions again. I liked the hire of RR at the time and thought it was an excellent pick. But I'm also wise enough to realize it was the wrong hire and it's time to move on and reach for the stars and be and act the best without anything or anyone holding us back. GO BLUE!!!
Looks like we've got ourselves what I like to call a true "hybrid Michigan Man". These are some of the best kind. Someone who is half Ohioan and half Michiganian. Usually someone from Ohio with strong ties to Michigan.
A true hybrid Michigan Man is ferocious, has a hatred for Ohio State like none other, yet has the heart to care about and love his players, even while toughening them up into better, stronger football players and men. Better yet they are passionate, excellent football coaches.
We must put Hoke on a pedestal just like we did Bo. Because of timing, already being taken by other colleges, or not being assertive because we've already got a coach, guys like Hoke are only available every 20-30 years.
We must not half as s this like Hoke is just some other dude. Hoke is special I'm telling you. Make this man the top 5 paid coach in the country once he gets this thing turned around in the next few years.
That will also upgrade Michigan even more when the best recruits from around the country get an offer from a top 5 paid coach. Of course, that will also mean an even greater chance of landing the better in-state Michigan and Ohio recruits.
Wait. That's the cat that I saw at a Michigan/Ohio State game. He pulled out a pint of whiskey, took a sip, then started singing that one song, "Oooooh. We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan. We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan. Weeee're from 0-hi-o".......................
I agree totally. I think Hoke is exactly what Michigan needs right now. If we would have gotten a national coach without any Michigan ties, it would have been the same thing all over again. Instead of focusing on football, the questions would always be about if the coach understands the rivalries, trying to figure him out, does he understand Michigan traditions...too many things would get sidetracked. It's unfortunate, but that's the way things seem to be with Michigan football. You have to keep things real simple or the media creates a circus and everyone gets confused.
It's definitely disappointing losing Zettel. I sometimes just want to shake these in-state kids that go elsewhere and ask them how could they not want to put on the winged helmet? The best thing Michigan can do now is recruit and play well and make these recruits who didn't sign with Michigan regret their decision.
I know some people from Brother Rice who were at that Harrison vs Rice playoff game and they said the same thing. Is there anyway to show that play on film so we can judge for ourselves?
Dantonio by far. He picked a fight with Michigan the day he became coach. We never really responded. Time to put Dantonio in his rightful place. I hope Alabama squashes him.
Patience is a virtue that very few women have and absolutely no men have. Brandon is the exception to that rule. How I interpret this interval is Brandon doesn't want to fire RR and then have all the speculation of hiring Harbaugh and then not being able to get Harbaugh, such as what happened three years ago with the Les Miles situation. I think the reduced buyout also plays a role in waiting.
Brandon said after the OSU game that he was very disappointed with how the season ended. That's a big clue to me that he doesn't intend to keep RR. He just wants to make sure that the hiring process doesn't blow up in Michigan's face like it did three years ago. I think the biggest question is if Harbaugh doesn't get the job for whatever reason who will?
It's all about putting pressure on the qb. What bugs me about the 3-3-5 is it's difficult to put pressure on the qb with only three lineman up front. You give any qb in the league enough time to pass and they'll pick you apart. I notice when we blitz or put more people at the line of scrimmage, the qb is less likely to complete a pass.
There's jerks all over Ohio when it comes to Michigan football. What's fun to us is dead serious to them. Years ago I took my family to Great Wolf Lodge Waterpark in Ohio. My son and I were getting ready to go on one of those tube slides. We waited in line and as we got to the top the worker handed us our rafts.
For the fun of it I told him I was from Michigan and a Wolverine fan. He whipped out his lower leg that had an OSU tatoo on it, said he bleeds scarlet and grey, got in my face and said he was a Buckeye fan. He then grabbed my raft and threw it across the platform. And he wasn't joking.
I was more shocked than anything. The crowd was just sort of watching to see if there was going to be a fight. I really had no desire to fight. I just wanted to have fun with my son.
I also realized that I was the one who provoked him by saying I was a Wolverine. I just didn't think it could lead to a fight. I realized how foolish this was and didn't want to make any more of a scene. So I just walked across the platform, got my raft and went down the slide.
As far as going to the Shoe, I've never been there and have no desire to go there. But I know Michigan people who have and every one of them had a terrible experience. If you go there I would take the suggestion of going with a group of people and never be anywhere alone in that stadium, especially the bathrooms.
I know some Michigan band members who got urine thrown at them while in the bathroom at the Shoe. Many others have said they've gotten flipped off and things thrown at them. Just remember that if you're wearing Michigan stuff in there you are fair game.
I think we took Carr for granted in so many ways. He owned MSU and Penn State. He pretty much owned the Big Ten. He continued the bowl streak. But I think the thing that killed him was he could no longer beat Ohio State. And that became magnified. All the other good he did was overlooked.
I'm not sure it's Greg Robinson as it is with just having bad luck with recruiting defensive players. From Dorsey to Turner and all the other injuries, I don't think any system would have worked. Plus we're real young.
I think it's nothing more than Michigan not being able to get up against these unknown division 2 teams. And while Michigan is unknown to them, these teams are super pumped to make a name for themselves and have nothing to lose.
So yes I think it would be wise and give more credibility to schedule lower tier teams in division 1, preferably teams that Michigan is familiar with such as Eastern and Western Michigan. It has more to do with getting emotionally pumped up for the game than it does with fear.
If I'm not mistaken I believe Michigan was ranked #26 before the Notre Dame game. So I knew if they beat Notre Dame they'd be ranked. Whether they're a true #20 team or not, it doesn't matter to me right now. All I know is Michigan just won two huge games that many people thought they weren't capable of winning both.
So I think we're having the right mental outlook. We're happy as heck that Michigan is 2-0. We pretty much know we'll go at least 4-0 with wins over Massachusetts and Bowling Green.
If we assume this it is a huge mistake! So we're keeping things in perspective, just being grateful we're 2-0. Take one game at a time. Do not consider Massachusetts a pushover this week. That's when slips happen. We should prepare for Massachusetts the way we prepared for Connecticut and Notre Dame.
Boise State is a good team. I don't think anyone is denying that. The question is do they deserve to have a title shot if they run the table. I say it depends. If the top team in the Big Ten, SEC, Pac Ten, Big Twelve has one loss, in most cases that would still trump an undefeated Boise State. Why? Because Boise State would also have at least one loss if they were in those conferences.
Beating Virginia Tech is an impressive win. But having Nevada, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, Utah State, Hawaii, Idaho, San Jose State, New Mexico State in your conference does not compare with the other conferences.
RR has every right to put Gardner at #2. He is the one who sees these guys practice, not us. RR also mentioned that Gardner is too talented to redshirt. Tressel started Pryor ahead of a senior with an accurate arm when Pryor was a true freshman. Paterno has true freshman Bolden starting over two sophomores. Things happen. When a coach has a super talent who already has the size, sometimes it's best not to let him rot on the bench.
This can be as hard on RR as Forcier. RR can't please everybody. He's got to make decisions that he feels are best for Michigan. As of now he's got Robinson #1, Gardner #2, Forcier #3. But things can get volatile and change in a heartbeat. It would be wise for Forcier to stick it out and support his teammates. It would also be best for Michigan if Forcier stays.
Consider this. Size and bulking up isn't an issue with Gardner. So that really can't be a reason for redshirting. Live game time experience is the only way to face the unexpected. He could even come in in tight games on non-risky plays just to get in there and get experience. Sort of what Florida did with Tebow a few years back. A qb doesn't develop by sitting on the bench the whole season.
Another way I look at it is if they think Gardner is the best fit, most talented qb for this offense, then give him some playing time in games where Michigan is either blowing out a team or getting blown out by a team (hopefully not). That way he'll get some experience so he can start next year.
Pryor started as a true freshman. So did Henne. Nothing beats experience. Otherwise even if Gardner is redshirted this year, then next year they're going to say that he doesn't have a chance to start because of a lack of experience and Forcier and DeRob will have so much more experience.
I just think that if they know Gardner is the future qb, it's too risky to wait too long with a qb with this much talent.
It's unbelievable how Cissoko has fallen. I'm not sure what's wrong with him. But maybe this is his way of dealing with not making it at Michigan. Maybe his expectations were so high, and when he didn't live up to those expectations he felt like such a failure that this is how he dealt with it. I hope he finds God and gets help with his problems.
Good luck Austin White. Sorry it didn't work out. I agree that the reason should be stated as to why it didn't work out. Anything is better than hearing it from Sparty.
The real difference to me is the Lions are now watchable. The defensive line can now pressure the qb. The offense can now move the chains. I'm not predicting playoffs, but there should be a big improvement barring injuries to the key players.
This is a perfect example of KISS - "keep it simple stupid." It's real simple. You can split the Big Ten into two divisions and still keep tradition. Put Michigan and Ohio State in the same division and keep it at the last game of the season. Simple enough?
This isn't about "I" or "him". It's about "we". We're going to stick together this season for the good or bad. We've got to have faith that someone will step up in Woolfolk's place. Now is not the time to fall apart.
I'm not sure it's really going to matter who starts, unless of course the starter stands out as the proven starter and can remain durable. I'm still confused about it though. DeRob is exciting with his speed. But as we know if he isn't accurate and makes mistakes it will do no good. I don't think RR would hesitate to pull him if he's throwing interceptions. Forcier is crafty and can be very accurate. But as we know if he is injury prone he won't last. So as far as we know it might be both qb's again this year until Devin Gardner is ready.
It sucks when life gets in the way of Michigan football. If I have to go somewhere on game day, I tape the game so I can watch it when I get home. It's not the same as watching it live, but at least I can see what happened on every play.
Thank God someone finally grew a pair and criticized these clowns publicly. Everytime I heard Valenti criticize Michigan these past two years, I was in disbelief as to why no one was giving it right back to them. Ignoring these trolls won't stop them. You really need to kick guys like Valenti right in the teeth. Don't let them get away with bashing Michigan. Call them out everytime they do.
It will come during and after the season starts. Bad luck is bad luck. But I'm not going to dance around pretending everything is all right if we go through another bad season again. As far as I'm concerned Tate Forcier could transfer. Or Dee Hart and Zettel could sign somewhere else. But that still wouldn't justify another bad season. Ohio State I don't care about. But we can't be losing to both Notre Dame and MSU. I'm at the point where I'm just blocking out the bad news (investigation at both Michigan, West Virginia, Dorsey, Turner). But I'm cetainly not going to use these bad news events as an excuse if we have another bad season.
This is definitely a victory for RR and Michigan. With all this bad news popping up all the time, it's good that Michigan is still getting some talented kids. Most of all this is RR's recruit that was based on attraction rather than promotion.
Recent Comments
Not sure what the point spread will be. But I'm predicting OSU to win it by 4 td's and then beat Sparty by 3 td's.
I go even further than focusing on Rich Rod for those disastrous years. Certainly AD Bill Martin should get some of the blame for hiring Rich Rod in the first place. At the time this was considered the most important decision in Bill Martins career and one of the most in Michigan football history.
He was sleeping when Les Miles was available for that small open window of opportunity. Defensive coordinator Bo Pelini was available at the time. So was Ron English and other assistants on the Michigan football staff. Brady Hoke was available. Michigan native and Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz would have probably jumped at the opportunity. All of these candidates would've kept up with the Michigan traditions.
I was shocked and extremely disappointed by todays performance. To save the season I think we might have to tweak it some and be willing to use Gardner similar to the way we used DeRob, just not quite as much. Because he is a better passer than DeRob.
Lets not forget Gardner was the top rated dual threat qb in the country coming out of high school. To expect him to be mainly a pocket passer is not fair to him and not his strength. When Gardner runs it opens up the offense for better passing plays and rb plays.
Sure it is a bigger risk for injury. But since that is his strength then thats the chance we take. Shane Morris is the back up and is a pure pocket passer who would be expected to complete more passes, which eliminates the need for a running qb.
I hate all MSU people. Their existence alone causes me to have a resentment every day, 365 days a year.
This one is tough to call. You know MSU is going to stack the box on defense to try to prevent DeRob from running rapidly. If you can't pass in a game like this you will not win. If DeRob is able to get the offense moving with some passes, then he'll be able to run because the defense won't be able to stack the box as much.
I've got to give Michigan the edge with the coaching staff. Even if MSU plays more physical and slightly tougher, I feel confident the coaching staff will come up with schemes to counter whatever MSU is doing, including putting the pressure on Cousins. And Hoke will have this team fired up like no other and will not be intimidated by Dantonio's antics.
No doubt. I don't know how he gets away with even having that job. He's a New Yorker who went to MSU. That's all he does is rip Michigan when talking about college football. The thing is almost all the callers are Michigan fans. Valenti doesn't represent the communuty. He needs to go.
Our Michigan women are like a family to me. Same with our Michigan men. When one of our Michigan family members is attacked by an opposing team, newspapers, predators, it affects me.
I thought I was the only one. This virus hit me last week also. So far my security system blocked it as long as I let it scan it.
I was in a hurry and had to be out the door while making this thread. I forgot to add the link. My error.
His salary is done and finished for now. But if he does bring greatness to Michigan, I just want to bring it to everyone's attention that we should pay him the way we woud've paid any other top 5 coach. If we don't it would downgrade Michigan and the coaching position itself at Michigan. It would make Michigan look cheap.
I would have to say yes. Anyone who has done what Hoke has done in this short of time, including the way he carries himself, the honor he brings and the respect he demands, his love for Michigan, his leadership, his taking the fight right to the faces of our rivals, making sure he does all he can to make his players better on the field as well as better men, I have no doubt in my mind we have good reason to be ecstatic.
Hoke will be here a long time, probably until he says he's ready to go. I would say at least 10 years as long as his health holds up and he still wants to do it, maybe even 15 or 20 years if he can do it.. He will demand excellence every year of it too. After that I think we need to make sure he's part of the hiring process if he's still around.
Congratulations on your honeymoon, Brian. I'll never forget on my honeymoon when we went to Hawaii. We were on the island of Hawaii getting a ride from a taxi to the hotel. The driver asked where we were from. I said Michigan and asked where he was from. He said Alaska. He said he had lived in Alaska all his life and where he lived had only 3 hours of daylight everyday. He took a vacation to Hawaii and never went back to Alaska. He just left all his belongings in his apartment in Alaska and that was it. He said he's never been happier in his life and had no plans to ever move back.
And if he does turn this thing around in a few years that would be half as sing it and acting like we just got another dude. We should pay the man top dollar if he takes the fight right back to Dantonio after getting spanked for 3 years, beats Ohio State, and wins Big Ten Championships and gets us to top level BCS games.
Already he's solidified the program in a short amount of time after being in total misery. He's brought back nothing but top credibility to Michigan with Detroit and Ohio reporters. Dantonio has to go out of state because Hoke is getting most of the good locals. Isn't it going to be nice to finally shut up Sparty and make things normal again? He's getting the top rated Ohio recruits who would've gone to OSU. He got a verbal from a possible 5 star in-state qb with one visit, and that was with 2 years of high school remaining.
We had better act like we got a Harbaugh or Saban if Hoke makes us champions again. I liked the hire of RR at the time and thought it was an excellent pick. But I'm also wise enough to realize it was the wrong hire and it's time to move on and reach for the stars and be and act the best without anything or anyone holding us back. GO BLUE!!!
Looks like we've got ourselves what I like to call a true "hybrid Michigan Man". These are some of the best kind. Someone who is half Ohioan and half Michiganian. Usually someone from Ohio with strong ties to Michigan.
A true hybrid Michigan Man is ferocious, has a hatred for Ohio State like none other, yet has the heart to care about and love his players, even while toughening them up into better, stronger football players and men. Better yet they are passionate, excellent football coaches.
We must put Hoke on a pedestal just like we did Bo. Because of timing, already being taken by other colleges, or not being assertive because we've already got a coach, guys like Hoke are only available every 20-30 years.
We must not half as s this like Hoke is just some other dude. Hoke is special I'm telling you. Make this man the top 5 paid coach in the country once he gets this thing turned around in the next few years.
That will also upgrade Michigan even more when the best recruits from around the country get an offer from a top 5 paid coach. Of course, that will also mean an even greater chance of landing the better in-state Michigan and Ohio recruits.
Just make sure you're well hydrated before you go in the sauna or steamroom. It wil help sweat out the toxins.
Wait. That's the cat that I saw at a Michigan/Ohio State game. He pulled out a pint of whiskey, took a sip, then started singing that one song, "Oooooh. We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan. We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan. Weeee're from 0-hi-o".......................
I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Gee had Tressel over at his house to discuss the violation for three hours. I can just see it:
Gee: Come on in Jim. Would you like some coffee?
Tressel: Sure.
Gee: So Jim. What's the plan to get off lightly from NCAA violations.
Tressel: Well, they found out I was lying. But we had to have our players to win in 2010. Do you like my 9-1 record against Michigan?
Gee: Yep.
Tressel. Ok. Suspend me for the first two non-conference games and fine me $250,000.
Gee: No problem Jim. You got it.
I agree totally. I think Hoke is exactly what Michigan needs right now. If we would have gotten a national coach without any Michigan ties, it would have been the same thing all over again. Instead of focusing on football, the questions would always be about if the coach understands the rivalries, trying to figure him out, does he understand Michigan traditions...too many things would get sidetracked. It's unfortunate, but that's the way things seem to be with Michigan football. You have to keep things real simple or the media creates a circus and everyone gets confused.
I thought he was a boxer?
It's definitely disappointing losing Zettel. I sometimes just want to shake these in-state kids that go elsewhere and ask them how could they not want to put on the winged helmet? The best thing Michigan can do now is recruit and play well and make these recruits who didn't sign with Michigan regret their decision.
I know some people from Brother Rice who were at that Harrison vs Rice playoff game and they said the same thing. Is there anyway to show that play on film so we can judge for ourselves?
Dantonio by far. He picked a fight with Michigan the day he became coach. We never really responded. Time to put Dantonio in his rightful place. I hope Alabama squashes him.
Patience is a virtue that very few women have and absolutely no men have. Brandon is the exception to that rule. How I interpret this interval is Brandon doesn't want to fire RR and then have all the speculation of hiring Harbaugh and then not being able to get Harbaugh, such as what happened three years ago with the Les Miles situation. I think the reduced buyout also plays a role in waiting.
Brandon said after the OSU game that he was very disappointed with how the season ended. That's a big clue to me that he doesn't intend to keep RR. He just wants to make sure that the hiring process doesn't blow up in Michigan's face like it did three years ago. I think the biggest question is if Harbaugh doesn't get the job for whatever reason who will?
One thing is for sure. Our defense will be better by experience alone. It can't get much worse.
It's all about putting pressure on the qb. What bugs me about the 3-3-5 is it's difficult to put pressure on the qb with only three lineman up front. You give any qb in the league enough time to pass and they'll pick you apart. I notice when we blitz or put more people at the line of scrimmage, the qb is less likely to complete a pass.
When Ohio State students swim in their own urine in Mirror Lake during Michigan week.
I have faith in Brandon making the decisions about the coaching jobs that are best for Michigan, no matter what I think those decisions should be.
There's jerks all over Ohio when it comes to Michigan football. What's fun to us is dead serious to them. Years ago I took my family to Great Wolf Lodge Waterpark in Ohio. My son and I were getting ready to go on one of those tube slides. We waited in line and as we got to the top the worker handed us our rafts.
For the fun of it I told him I was from Michigan and a Wolverine fan. He whipped out his lower leg that had an OSU tatoo on it, said he bleeds scarlet and grey, got in my face and said he was a Buckeye fan. He then grabbed my raft and threw it across the platform. And he wasn't joking.
I was more shocked than anything. The crowd was just sort of watching to see if there was going to be a fight. I really had no desire to fight. I just wanted to have fun with my son.
I also realized that I was the one who provoked him by saying I was a Wolverine. I just didn't think it could lead to a fight. I realized how foolish this was and didn't want to make any more of a scene. So I just walked across the platform, got my raft and went down the slide.
As far as going to the Shoe, I've never been there and have no desire to go there. But I know Michigan people who have and every one of them had a terrible experience. If you go there I would take the suggestion of going with a group of people and never be anywhere alone in that stadium, especially the bathrooms.
I know some Michigan band members who got urine thrown at them while in the bathroom at the Shoe. Many others have said they've gotten flipped off and things thrown at them. Just remember that if you're wearing Michigan stuff in there you are fair game.
Sorry for the double post.
I think we took Carr for granted in so many ways. He owned MSU and Penn State. He pretty much owned the Big Ten. He continued the bowl streak. But I think the thing that killed him was he could no longer beat Ohio State. And that became magnified. All the other good he did was overlooked.
I'm not sure it's Greg Robinson as it is with just having bad luck with recruiting defensive players. From Dorsey to Turner and all the other injuries, I don't think any system would have worked. Plus we're real young.
I think it's nothing more than Michigan not being able to get up against these unknown division 2 teams. And while Michigan is unknown to them, these teams are super pumped to make a name for themselves and have nothing to lose.
So yes I think it would be wise and give more credibility to schedule lower tier teams in division 1, preferably teams that Michigan is familiar with such as Eastern and Western Michigan. It has more to do with getting emotionally pumped up for the game than it does with fear.
3) And if a Notre Dame defender shoves the qb in the face and grabs his mask it's not a penalty.
If I'm not mistaken I believe Michigan was ranked #26 before the Notre Dame game. So I knew if they beat Notre Dame they'd be ranked. Whether they're a true #20 team or not, it doesn't matter to me right now. All I know is Michigan just won two huge games that many people thought they weren't capable of winning both.
So I think we're having the right mental outlook. We're happy as heck that Michigan is 2-0. We pretty much know we'll go at least 4-0 with wins over Massachusetts and Bowling Green.
If we assume this it is a huge mistake! So we're keeping things in perspective, just being grateful we're 2-0. Take one game at a time. Do not consider Massachusetts a pushover this week. That's when slips happen. We should prepare for Massachusetts the way we prepared for Connecticut and Notre Dame.
Boise State is a good team. I don't think anyone is denying that. The question is do they deserve to have a title shot if they run the table. I say it depends. If the top team in the Big Ten, SEC, Pac Ten, Big Twelve has one loss, in most cases that would still trump an undefeated Boise State. Why? Because Boise State would also have at least one loss if they were in those conferences.
Beating Virginia Tech is an impressive win. But having Nevada, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, Utah State, Hawaii, Idaho, San Jose State, New Mexico State in your conference does not compare with the other conferences.
RR has every right to put Gardner at #2. He is the one who sees these guys practice, not us. RR also mentioned that Gardner is too talented to redshirt. Tressel started Pryor ahead of a senior with an accurate arm when Pryor was a true freshman. Paterno has true freshman Bolden starting over two sophomores. Things happen. When a coach has a super talent who already has the size, sometimes it's best not to let him rot on the bench.
This can be as hard on RR as Forcier. RR can't please everybody. He's got to make decisions that he feels are best for Michigan. As of now he's got Robinson #1, Gardner #2, Forcier #3. But things can get volatile and change in a heartbeat. It would be wise for Forcier to stick it out and support his teammates. It would also be best for Michigan if Forcier stays.
Consider this. Size and bulking up isn't an issue with Gardner. So that really can't be a reason for redshirting. Live game time experience is the only way to face the unexpected. He could even come in in tight games on non-risky plays just to get in there and get experience. Sort of what Florida did with Tebow a few years back. A qb doesn't develop by sitting on the bench the whole season.
Another way I look at it is if they think Gardner is the best fit, most talented qb for this offense, then give him some playing time in games where Michigan is either blowing out a team or getting blown out by a team (hopefully not). That way he'll get some experience so he can start next year.
Pryor started as a true freshman. So did Henne. Nothing beats experience. Otherwise even if Gardner is redshirted this year, then next year they're going to say that he doesn't have a chance to start because of a lack of experience and Forcier and DeRob will have so much more experience.
I just think that if they know Gardner is the future qb, it's too risky to wait too long with a qb with this much talent.
It's unbelievable how Cissoko has fallen. I'm not sure what's wrong with him. But maybe this is his way of dealing with not making it at Michigan. Maybe his expectations were so high, and when he didn't live up to those expectations he felt like such a failure that this is how he dealt with it. I hope he finds God and gets help with his problems.
Good luck Austin White. Sorry it didn't work out. I agree that the reason should be stated as to why it didn't work out. Anything is better than hearing it from Sparty.
The real difference to me is the Lions are now watchable. The defensive line can now pressure the qb. The offense can now move the chains. I'm not predicting playoffs, but there should be a big improvement barring injuries to the key players.
This is a perfect example of KISS - "keep it simple stupid." It's real simple. You can split the Big Ten into two divisions and still keep tradition. Put Michigan and Ohio State in the same division and keep it at the last game of the season. Simple enough?
This isn't about "I" or "him". It's about "we". We're going to stick together this season for the good or bad. We've got to have faith that someone will step up in Woolfolk's place. Now is not the time to fall apart.
Dee Hart will be the Steve Slaton that Michigan needs. Also I'm wondering if that will create a domino effect for more great ones to follow.
I'm not sure it's really going to matter who starts, unless of course the starter stands out as the proven starter and can remain durable. I'm still confused about it though. DeRob is exciting with his speed. But as we know if he isn't accurate and makes mistakes it will do no good. I don't think RR would hesitate to pull him if he's throwing interceptions. Forcier is crafty and can be very accurate. But as we know if he is injury prone he won't last. So as far as we know it might be both qb's again this year until Devin Gardner is ready.
It sucks when life gets in the way of Michigan football. If I have to go somewhere on game day, I tape the game so I can watch it when I get home. It's not the same as watching it live, but at least I can see what happened on every play.
Thank God someone finally grew a pair and criticized these clowns publicly. Everytime I heard Valenti criticize Michigan these past two years, I was in disbelief as to why no one was giving it right back to them. Ignoring these trolls won't stop them. You really need to kick guys like Valenti right in the teeth. Don't let them get away with bashing Michigan. Call them out everytime they do.
It will come during and after the season starts. Bad luck is bad luck. But I'm not going to dance around pretending everything is all right if we go through another bad season again. As far as I'm concerned Tate Forcier could transfer. Or Dee Hart and Zettel could sign somewhere else. But that still wouldn't justify another bad season. Ohio State I don't care about. But we can't be losing to both Notre Dame and MSU. I'm at the point where I'm just blocking out the bad news (investigation at both Michigan, West Virginia, Dorsey, Turner). But I'm cetainly not going to use these bad news events as an excuse if we have another bad season.
This is definitely a victory for RR and Michigan. With all this bad news popping up all the time, it's good that Michigan is still getting some talented kids. Most of all this is RR's recruit that was based on attraction rather than promotion.