I live in Fort Wayne and I'm close to several close friends of the family. Austin actually works out where my son plays ball. We saw him there almost every weekend before his accident. I won't comment/speculate on his future playing career, but I will say that he has the grades to get into U of M (even without athletic consideration) and he has the money to afford it if that's where he wants to go. It will be interesting to see what he decides. He has enough money now he can basically do what he chooses for the rest of his life.
We were down on the field during the warm ups and it was amazing watching and hearing the coaches interact with these kids.We really have a great group of coaches.I stood next to Fred Jackson as the backs warmed up.He was positive and encouraging the entire time.
I need to apologize for all the negative things I said about Denard this season. The kid was money in the most important game of the year. He threw the ball exceptionally well (14 of 17). Great touch and accuracy all day. He ran well too... It looks like he is going to be a great QB (not just a runner) next year!
Worst play call in Michigan history?I hardly doubt it.I saw much worse and more predictable during the Carr era. It's hard to narrow it down to one.
This focus on the 4th and inches play is overkill.It was a risky call and it failed.It happens all the time.I have a bigger issue with the fact that we got the ball back with plenty of time left to tie the store and we threw yet another interception…Our NCAA leading 10th interception if I remember correctly.
He criticized our academics because his feelings were hurt. We've all overreacted to hurt feelings. He took the 49ers job because he could double his income, continue living in the Bay Area while not worrying about ditching his two kids from his first marriage and so he could coach at the highest level. Given his personal situation, it's hard to find fault in his decision to take the 49ers job. It's a bigger issue for me if he would've gone to Carolina or some place else on the other side of the country.
I read every day, but post very infrequently. If I could vote you up, I would give you five points for this one. Any idiot that thinks a Rich Rod coached team could've won that game shouldn't be allowed on the board.
They were part of Dantonio's secret plan to distract Denard and throw us off our game. He used them to set up the massive right side blitz we saw the entire second half.
I’m not sure how anyone can be proud of how we played. We can be proud of how we conducted ourselves, but our play was less than stellar in almost every facet of the game.
In regards to MSU’s conduct, what do you expect from a team that goes into a dorm and attacks a bunch of students. MSU recruits and plays a bunch of undisciplined thugs. They always have and they likely always will…
This won't be solved for one or two recruiting classes. Outside of Molk and Lewan we just don't have the talent on the o-line to compete with the bigs boys...
It will be interesting to see what the ESPN bloggers jump all over this one. They sure threw Michigan under the bus last year when one of our players (I can recall which one) threw a punch and earned a one game suspension. Here's hoping for equal treatment for once.
Nope...8. Post your email and I will send you a pic so you can show your friends and family. One thing I don't have is a Michigan degree. You may have me on that one. I just wasn't focused enough in high school to meet the entrance requirements. Had to settle for a another institution.
As long as Denard is under center (or in the shotgun), opposing teams will stack the box and play the run first. Until we can pass the ball donw field effectively, as we did against MN, more handoffs to the backs is not a vaible solution to our problem. Waiting to make a change at QB will likely result in 8-4 this year and 7-5 or 8-4 next. Any team with a good athletes on defense (MSU, NEB, OSU and possibly ILL) will shut us down.
The worst kind are mouthy nerds who start personally attacking people because they think it's funny. It actually becomes funny when it's shoved down their throat. If you think a post is stupid or irrelevant, make a reasonable counterpoint. Don't attack the person posting it...
Haters...I make $300K a year and have since I turned 30. If you would like to compare paychecks and cars, let me know. Also, is it possible for anyone who has a real job to accumulate 24k points on this board? Changing the topic...we can argue about Denard until we turn blue in the face, but I will bet you any amount of money we can't win more then 8 games without a QB who can actually throw the ball. It doesn't matter who calls the plays and how well we play defense if we can't throw. We used up our miracle against ND so we have to earn it from here on out...
I manage a fairly large organization and I have for 10+ years.There are occasions when I have a great employee who’s trying really hard, but he/she isn’t a good fit for their current role.I will do my best to coach him/her up until I’m completely convinced it’s not going to work and then I sit down and tell him/her they have to find a different role, or they have to find another job outside the company.Sometimes we find a role that’s a better fit, sometimes they quit and other times I fire them because they don’t respond well to the situation.Regardless of how I feel about the person, my job is to deliver results and maximize shareholder wealth.It’s not about that individual being a good or bad person.It’s about having best people in each and every role so the team succeeds. Coach Hoke - I hope you read this post…Gardner for QB in 2011!
" To see the look in their eye after games like the last one and the one before that and the one before that, you just say, ‘God, I want to do a better job of coaching. I want to really really help these guys.’ That’s how our whole staff feels."
Man...the passion these coaches have for these kids and the University of Michigan is unmatched. They aren't doing it for the paycheck...
Let’s take football out of the mix and analyze this from a business perspective. After all, Dave Brandon is from the business world and he analyzes everything using those parameters and standards. Here are my thoughts:
1.) RR is the CEO of Michigan Football which generates $90M+ per year for U of M Athletics. DB is the Chairman of the Board.
2.) Question 1: As the CEO and face of Michigan Football, how has RR helped the Michigan Football Brand the last three years?
A1: RR hasn’t done anything to advance the Michigan Football Brand. He’s done more to harm it than help it. You can see that by looking at his record, reading any sports newspaper, listening to any sports analyst, or asking any objective college football fan. They would all agree Michigan Football is worse than it was three years ago with no assurances of future success with this system, these players and this coaching staff.
3.) Question 2: If you hired RR as the CEO of your company (let’s just say Domino’s Pizza), and three years into it he had already run Sales, Operations and Marketing into the ground as he has the Offense, Defense, and Special Team at Michigan. Would you feel good about the fact that he grew Sales (Offense) back to their original levels three years into his job? Would you trust him to hang around long enough to fix Operations and Marketing? Would you have a high level of confidence he could generate future Sales growth?
A2: No. If he was Dave Brandon’s CEO @ Domino’s Pizza (and Dave was the Chairman of the Board) RR would’ve been fired no later than year two. You can’t go into a company/business unit that is functioning reasonably well and tear it to pieces and claim progress when only one area is performing reasonably well three years later. In the business world, he probably would’ve been gone in year one because his excuse of an “empty cupboard” wouldn’t fly.
Bottom line here is this… Dave Brandon knows Rich isn’t the guy to represent the Michigan Football Brand. He never was and he never will be. He did the right thing any good leader would do and supported him up to this point. He’s going to term Rich after the bowl game and after he and Jimmy H. have already signed his new contract. He’s delaying the decision/announcement because he knows Jimmy won’t come until he wins his BCS game with his current team. You can take that to the bank.
Recent Comments
Double post... Sorry
We were down on the field during the warm ups and it was amazing watching and hearing the coaches interact with these kids. We really have a great group of coaches. I stood next to Fred Jackson as the backs warmed up. He was positive and encouraging the entire time.
Like many of you, I thought “oh crap this isn’t going to end well”, but the kid pulled it out. He really progressed this year under his new coaches…
I need to apologize for all the negative things I said about Denard this season. The kid was money in the most important game of the year. He threw the ball exceptionally well (14 of 17). Great touch and accuracy all day. He ran well too... It looks like he is going to be a great QB (not just a runner) next year!
Worst play call in Michigan history? I hardly doubt it. I saw much worse and more predictable during the Carr era. It's hard to narrow it down to one.
This focus on the 4th and inches play is overkill. It was a risky call and it failed. It happens all the time. I have a bigger issue with the fact that we got the ball back with plenty of time left to tie the store and we threw yet another interception… Our NCAA leading 10th interception if I remember correctly.
They were part of Dantonio's secret plan to distract Denard and throw us off our game. He used them to set up the massive right side blitz we saw the entire second half.
I’m not sure how anyone can be proud of how we played. We can be proud of how we conducted ourselves, but our play was less than stellar in almost every facet of the game.
In regards to MSU’s conduct, what do you expect from a team that goes into a dorm and attacks a bunch of students. MSU recruits and plays a bunch of undisciplined thugs. They always have and they likely always will…
This won't be solved for one or two recruiting classes. Outside of Molk and Lewan we just don't have the talent on the o-line to compete with the bigs boys...
It will be interesting to see what the ESPN bloggers jump all over this one. They sure threw Michigan under the bus last year when one of our players (I can recall which one) threw a punch and earned a one game suspension. Here's hoping for equal treatment for once.
Nope...8. Post your email and I will send you a pic so you can show your friends and family. One thing I don't have is a Michigan degree. You may have me on that one. I just wasn't focused enough in high school to meet the entrance requirements. Had to settle for a another institution.
I manage a fairly large organization and I have for 10+ years. There are occasions when I have a great employee who’s trying really hard, but he/she isn’t a good fit for their current role. I will do my best to coach him/her up until I’m completely convinced it’s not going to work and then I sit down and tell him/her they have to find a different role, or they have to find another job outside the company. Sometimes we find a role that’s a better fit, sometimes they quit and other times I fire them because they don’t respond well to the situation. Regardless of how I feel about the person, my job is to deliver results and maximize shareholder wealth. It’s not about that individual being a good or bad person. It’s about having best people in each and every role so the team succeeds. Coach Hoke - I hope you read this post… Gardner for QB in 2011!
He does look like he just whacked someone...
" To see the look in their eye after games like the last one and the one before that and the one before that, you just say, ‘God, I want to do a better job of coaching. I want to really really help these guys.’ That’s how our whole staff feels."
Man...the passion these coaches have for these kids and the University of Michigan is unmatched. They aren't doing it for the paycheck...
Let’s take football out of the mix and analyze this from a business perspective. After all, Dave Brandon is from the business world and he analyzes everything using those parameters and standards. Here are my thoughts:
1.) RR is the CEO of Michigan Football which generates $90M+ per year for U of M Athletics. DB is the Chairman of the Board.
2.) Question 1: As the CEO and face of Michigan Football, how has RR helped the Michigan Football Brand the last three years?
A1: RR hasn’t done anything to advance the Michigan Football Brand. He’s done more to harm it than help it. You can see that by looking at his record, reading any sports newspaper, listening to any sports analyst, or asking any objective college football fan. They would all agree Michigan Football is worse than it was three years ago with no assurances of future success with this system, these players and this coaching staff.
3.) Question 2: If you hired RR as the CEO of your company (let’s just say Domino’s Pizza), and three years into it he had already run Sales, Operations and Marketing into the ground as he has the Offense, Defense, and Special Team at Michigan. Would you feel good about the fact that he grew Sales (Offense) back to their original levels three years into his job? Would you trust him to hang around long enough to fix Operations and Marketing? Would you have a high level of confidence he could generate future Sales growth?
A2: No. If he was Dave Brandon’s CEO @ Domino’s Pizza (and Dave was the Chairman of the Board) RR would’ve been fired no later than year two. You can’t go into a company/business unit that is functioning reasonably well and tear it to pieces and claim progress when only one area is performing reasonably well three years later. In the business world, he probably would’ve been gone in year one because his excuse of an “empty cupboard” wouldn’t fly.
Bottom line here is this… Dave Brandon knows Rich isn’t the guy to represent the Michigan Football Brand. He never was and he never will be. He did the right thing any good leader would do and supported him up to this point. He’s going to term Rich after the bowl game and after he and Jimmy H. have already signed his new contract. He’s delaying the decision/announcement because he knows Jimmy won’t come until he wins his BCS game with his current team. You can take that to the bank.