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I don't see this as a fail…

I don't see this as a fail on JH's behalf given the timing of JB's departure and maybe a moderate case of Yak feeling unappreciated.  How many of us would want to hang around after being passed over for a promotion in favor of an "outsider".  If this is any kind of failure then I would say its a program failure.  JH will have plenty of opportunities to succeed or fail in recruiting players and staff but this one is not on JH.

Question is...

Would you rather be cheering for Denard and this team, or would you rather have to face Denard on an opposing team?

O How I Love Michigan

I was born and raised in Alabama and have some feelings for the Crimson Tide, but Michigan is my heart and soul.  Living now in Columbus OH I have to let everyone here know that I am Blue through and through.  My passion for the Maize and Blue is what keeps me going during late spring and summer in anticipation of the fall and winter.  Coach Hoke and Coach Beilein and their respective staffs are exceeding all expectations - great results!  Hail to the Maize and Blue.

Point Well Taken

I did not mean to sound less than certain we will win.

Remembering 2011 Preseason Talk

Last spring and summer there was quite a bit of disparaging talk about our shortcomings and weaknesses. Maybe it was justifiable. Thank God our boys listened to our great coaches and played extremely well down the stretch. Sure, for 2012 we have a few holes to fill and some what ifs to contend with, such as: What if BWC steps up and "gets it"; what if JB or QW or RA, or even Pee Wee becomes a force on the DL; what if BC starts believing he is the second coming of King Charles; what if Def Roh strives in the switch; what if DRob kicks it up a notch or two; what if 'Tree or JG or even JJ becomes all world? I know there are a lot of ifs here - but Coach Hoke and his staff have me believing in what we would have thought as highly unlikely a few seasons back. Not anymore - I am a firm believer in team 133 with this coaching staff. Let’s reload and go beat the Tide!

What's next - a cure for the world's worst diseases?

Wow! Let’s get the Michigan FB coaching staff down to the medical research lab ASAP. They are in the zone and can do no wrong! I just feel they might have something else up their sleeves. Oh, by the way let's get the Powerball and Mega Millions numbers from them for the next drawing.

Opinions about lil bro...

First off I'm not in favor of the lil bro comment as would prefer it not having been said. However it is harmless silly sports talk that should not have garnered nearly as much scrutiny as happened. Some have prescribed way too much consequence to Mike's offhand comment. Dantanio's supposed curse is world class BS. If Dantonio knew we were going to hire RR and spend the next 3 years in the Big Ten wilderness he would have written a book foretelling such and made millions then and every year on the sports talk curcuit. I am so tired of people giving this" bogey man fairy tale dribble" legs until I could just puke hot purple foam.

Brady Hoke will end this so called curse in 2012 and completely bury it with a national championship! Long live Brady Hoke.

Wolverines rule

A wolverine can eat a couple of honey badgers on the way to a meal.

Is that correct?

I thought a signed LOI was binding for the commit's full term of NCAA eligibility at a university.  The scholarship on the other hand is annual.  However if a commit desires a transfer he/she must get a release from the university.  There are a few exceptions where the commit may appeal to the NCAA directly for a release.

As Fred Jackson would say...

He's like Jeremy Gallon, but faster.  Two things I noticed about Dennis:

1) He runs with above average horizontal balance.  This smoothness usually is a good indicaor the runner does well on wet and/or slippery surfaces.  The other part of this is the runner's ability to cut using the heel rather than the forefoot, but I can't really tell this from his videos.

2) He uses a gliding gait that gives a deceptive appearance.  Of course this may cause defenders to take wrong angles and figure defender over confident in catching the runner, especially as the games drags in later quarters.

This commitment may be a very good addition for Michigan in the return game and in slot receiver play.

Do you take suggestions?

I suppose the potential for legal ramifications may exist, but do you or would you considewr taking suggestions from your viewing public?  Just thinking it may be interesting to have a Lloyd Brady character visit from time to time - providing there are no copyright or proprietary impacts of course.  

Snakelike quickness?

I put forth the following potential nicknames:

1) Cobra

2) Mamba

3) Darbo (obviously not snake related)

Pee Wee was impressive

Three things that impressed me most about Andre Pipkens are:

1) His motor - the kid kept at it.  He was still running even when plays were going away from him and gave up only when the play was totally out of reach.  He also took good angles at ball carriers and avoided uneccessary traffic to get in on plays.

2) His will - seems the kid has a fairly healthy desire to excel, and plays with a certain level of agression.

3) "Intangibles" - I'm not saying Andre has "it" as a DL, but the kid appeared to have played within himself and did so with ease.  He was clearly producing without pressing.  To me this indicates whether a player has substantial upside as opposed to maxing out his abilities.

Maybe Coach Hoke just has "it"

For whatever reason our special teams players have just exploded under Coach Hoke.  It's not only a vast improvement in Brendan Gibbon's play but also I don't think Jeremy Gallon has muffed a K/P catch all year.    Maybe this is all due to the experience another year brings or maybe not, but we're glad to see the improvement.  Noe the next move is to get Wile and Hagerup up to that level.

Don't forget...

Brady can't take the NFL pounding, isn't very accurate, can't throw deep, and doesn't throw spirals - hence a 6th rounder at best!.

Oh...you want SB rings?

Maybe we can get Tom Brady to do a little recruiting for us sometime in the future.  He'll probably have 4 or 5 SB rings by the time he retires (hopefully).  Also he just might be impressive to high potential QB recruits.

Just a case of voluntary leg twitching

I do the very same thing. On numerous occasions I've caught myself shaking my leg (which jars my entire body) by moving the front of my foot up and down quickly in meetings. I noticed in presser video Coach Hoke stops shaking from time to time but drifts back into it. It’s all benign and really has no significance whatsoever, especially when he’s winning more than 75% of the games and whipping Ohio.

Terry Richardson =/= Pharoah Brown

As I understand it PB did not go to the coaching staff before taking the visit and took the visit without their knowledge.  TR, I think, went to the coaching staff to say he was considering taking another visit for which the coaches expressed disapproval, and he dropped the idea.   Big difference in my view.

Obviously Jordan Kovacs

Sorry guys, JK has played lights out over the last two seasons.  Somehow I I don't think of him as a former walk-on - but he surely is. Me culpa. 

Please - do not insult weasels!

Your reference to Dr. Gee as a weasel rubbed me the wrong way.  A wolverine is a giant weasel so weasels can't be be too bad.  Go Blue.

Making a Tough Call

Apparently Stefon realizes he has some growing up to do.  That's a good thing in that he recognizes this shortcoming at such a young age and is willing to discuss it publicly.  I applaud the young man for being honest with himself, but I also respect the Michigan coaching staff for upholding expectations and standards.  All recruits will understand this coaching staff will keep its word to potential recruits in a fair and wholesome manner.  I wish young Mr. Diggs the best in choosing a school that meets his needs and hope he has an outstanding experience in college and beyond.  Who knows maybe he will still choose Michigan down the line.  I believe if he is sufficiently contrite the coaching staff may reconsider and welcome him to our family with open arms.  Blake Countess as a teammate and close friend would be a great asset in helping him become more accountable and responsible.  May God bless.

On the flip side

Jonathan Hankins was a Michigan fan growing up but became an Ohio player after not receiving an offer from RR until it was too late.  I think the problem as stated was he was out of shape - but apparently has shaped up at Ohio.

Ohio's School Song

In addition to your points Ohio's school song is "Carmen Ohio", not "Carmen Ohio State".

Ohio's School Song

In addition to your points Ohio's school song is "Carmen Ohio", not "Carmen Ohio State".

Ohio fans say Ohio

Their school song is "Carmen Ohio" - not "Carmen Ohio State".  Also, a popular Ohio social chant is for a few fans to shout "OH" and others finish it by shouting "IO".  I've never heard anyone add "State" to that chant. 

You are correct - Miller missed the open receiver

Living here in Columbus, Ohio I've heard Woulda, coulda, shoulda, if and buts and couple thosand times now.  Okay, here we go - what if Fitz's TD had counted?  What if Dileo had not fallen down on the long pass play from Denard?  What if Denard and Fitz had made the opposite cuts while rushing and had taken it to the house?  What if our defense had not missed Miller on a several occasions for a few more sacks?  What if our defenders had not slipped on a several occasions and prevented a few more long balls?

So now it's official...

Denard had a regular successful season by making significant strides under a new system.  I concur that given his off season work ethic he should come back in 2012 as a much improved - more capable QB.  We'll get a glimpse of this new Denard on January 3rd at the Sugar Bowl.  My only concern there is the D must play their best game yet.  After New Orleans serve up the Tide! 

Lucky indeed...

Needless to say Denard is so very special to this team and to our wonderful fans. He is an outstanding role model for youngsters across the country by representing all that is good in amateur sports. Hopefully with this years’ experience to refine his technique and sharpen his QB skills he will soar through the 2013 season at stratospheric levels.

There are no "rights" - only results

Let’s be fair here, we dared OSU to beat us through the air and they could not. End of argument!  We knew BM was not very accurate as demonstrated in previous games, but he is a dangerous runner. As I recall OSU has the 3rd worst passing attack in the FBS. BM has hit some long passes in some games (a few last Saturday), but has a number of games where he was awful in throwing the ball. When we start dissecting facts by saying" woulda", "coulda", "shoulda", maybe, "ifa", then we also have to look at the plays that would have given us a couple more scores. A tackle here or there, or an interception here or there, or a fumble going differently, or a call going differently would surely have affected the score - one way or the other. During a twelve game season there is a high probability of a few above average scores against us - which actually happened. In this case the offense bailed us out by putting up more points on the board. I think OSU played above their heads and I applaud them for it. But we won the frickin' game! I'm not spending a millisecond going over this game to see how we could have lost it. I repeat - we won the frickin' game! If you are an OSU fan then hate it, but if you are a Michigan then love it! It’s called a rivalry game because the dominate team does not always win - many times the underdog pulls an upset (1969, 199x).  In this game the dominate team won by fending off the upset minded underdog.  We all saw that Denard played brilliantly, but he doesn't want us to focus on him, so I say thanks team - Coach Hoke - Coach Borges - Coach Mattison for easing a decade of pain. 

Just wondering...

Were those squirrels green and white?

To the contrary...

I think Denard has plenty of polish, and lots of pizazz.  Yeah I can see this Shoeski thing working up.  Imagine some team's defense trying to catch Denard using snowshoes while Denard is way out in front on skis cruising at unheard of speeds.

 

 

.

Point well taken

I'm so excited about this team and our future I could just burst out into streams of maize aand blue.  However I am cautiously hoping I won't wake up this weekend nor anytime soon to find it was all a dream.  Coach Hoke and crew are making believers out of sceptics and refueling our sense of pride in this program.  No, most of us never lost pride but our belief foundation may have been shaken a bit.  It has been stated by wiser men that the journey is more enjoyable than reaching one's destination.  So in the spirit of Saint Bo I say the journey, the journey, the journey.

Ifs do not matter but...

If Coach Hoke and Coach Mattison had been here to work with our DL a couple of years ago then a MM double team would be welcomed as an opportunity for the rest of our well coached DLs to excel.  As it is now they are finally receiving proper technique instruction and learning pro level tidbits.  Having faith this group of coaches are highly competent I expect a meteoric improvement before the season is done.  Basically the same group of players from last year are only allowing 12.5 PPG average so far.  Whodathunkit?  

In my opinion

You can easily detect holding when defenders can't run away from blockers.  There were several situations where this was the case.  Michigan defenders were trying to turn away from NW blockers but somehow could not run away from those guys.   Hmmmm...either an overuse on contact cement on NW jerseys and arms, or someone was...

In my opinion

You can easily detect holding when defenders can't run away from blockers.  There were several situations where this was the case.  Michigan defenders were trying to turn away from NW blockers but somehow could not run away from those guys.   Hmmmm...either an overuse on contact cement on NW jerseys and arms, or someone was...

This is only a small sampling of OSU fan idiocracy

I live here in Columbus and I can tell you it gets much worse than this.  Overzealous Buckeye fans pride themselve on how unyielding they are about their team's performance.  I have witnessed quite bizarre behavior bny seeming decent human beings here that turn into rabid maniacs when their team is not beating the bejeepers out of opponents.

OSU fans ran former president Karen Holbrook out of Columbus when she tried to crack down on unruly fan behavior here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2997669

This is more information as to why some fans act like deathly mobs.  Look closely and you'll a picture of the Horsehoe:

http://www.units.muohio.edu/psybersite/fans/deindividuation.shtml

On the flip side at Michigan we struggled through 3 years of humility without even so much as a bruised knee, yet some OSU fans want to hurt or maim their own players.  Go Blue! 

 

 

You noticed that too?  As you

You noticed that too?  As you described NW would get a huge 3 to 6 yard gain while similar gains by Michigan were described in more ho-hum terms. I also noticed Gerry DiNardo was stonefaced and emotionless in his commentary after the game.  Of course we have come to expect this from Lou Holtz after a Michigan win.  I dunno - maybe DiNardo was just a bit tired, so I'll just write it off as a long night on the job - this time!

I'd like to think...

Denard grew up a bit tonight by realizing (again) his impatience and the "make it happen" attitude usually result in unfavorable endings - such a interceptions and inaccurate throws.  Denard has an arm to get the ball down the field with accuracy but not when he doesn't set up correctly to deliver the ball.  Yes I know he made a miracle throw in the ND game with a defenseman pulling him down.  But plays like that are very rare.  Basically Denard is a playmaker on offense.  Al Borges is turning him into a pro-style QB.  This conversion is taking time as I'm sure Denard has been playing his way for some time now.  Appartently it worked well in HS but is a liability in a big time college atmosphere.   When breaking down  film this week Coach Hoke and Coach Borges can point out to Denard his night and day play in this single game - no need to contrast his play over two games.  I sincerely believe Denard will be fine for the remainder of the season.  He will have his moments when he hears Deerfield Friday night HS cheers and echoes bu thopefully those will fade as the season progresses.  That said I'm so proud of this team for breaking through in B1G play.  By the way the dfeense was awsome again.

I'd like to think...

Denard grew up a bit tonight by realizing (again) his impatience and the "make it happen" attitude usually result in unfavorable endings - such a interceptions and inaccurate throws.  Denard has an arm to get the ball down the field with accuracy but not when he doesn't set up correctly to deliver the ball.  Yes I know he made a miracle throw in the ND game with a defenseman pulling him down.  But plays like that are very rare.  Basically Denard is a playmaker on offense.  Al Borges is turning him into a pro-style QB.  This conversion is taking time as I'm sure Denard has been playing his way for some time now.  Appartently it worked well in HS but is a liability in a big time college atmosphere.   When breaking down  film this week Coach Hoke and Coach Borges can point out to Denard his night and day play in this single game - no need to contrast his play over two games.  I sincerely believe Denard will be fine for the remainder of the season.  He will have his moments when he hears Deerfield Friday night HS cheers and echoes bu thopefully those will fade as the season progresses.  That said I'm so proud of this team for breaking through in B1G play.  By the way the dfeense was awsome again.

Our red zone blemish

You are correct.  Our red zone blemish is due to the 4th qtr classy kneel down last Saturday as we have a couple of (red zone) field goals to the positive.

Looking back

Remember back when there was a MGOBLOG postinghinting that a major college sports program might be in some sort of trouble...remember that?  Wow.  It seems like a decade ago now.  Oh my, how the mighty are continuing to free-fall (this might not be the last of it).  Whowouldathunkit?

Speaking of Waterboy...

Is it just me or is Luke Fickell a dead ringer for Adam Sandler? 

Not so fast my friend...

The Taco was only offered at this point.

Where would we be with last year's defense

Given last year's defense in the first two games I think we would be 1-1.  The WMU game would have been a win but the score would have been more like 37-31.  ND would have won this game by rolling up 27 first half points with a final score of something like 42-31.  BWC would be a backup on the OL and our LB and CB play would be stinking up a dead flies.  Safeties would be making way to many tackles, and stuffed beaver sales would be on the rise.   Our season record would probably be 7-6 with a lower tier bowl win by a FG in OT. 

Just think...

Some  Brady hating hairball (probably an OSU illiterate) has the audacity to say Tom is overrated.   However NFL players know better as they voted him the best player in the NFL going into the 2011 season.  We certainly second their selection!  Michigan fans have really been entertained this weekend and tonight by dynamic Michigan QBs - Denard, Chad, and Tom.  Another NFL record set tonight was the combined 903 total game passing yards...by two former Wolverines.  Whodathunkit?

Recruiting dynamics

Sometimes the edge in recruiting may come down to seemingly simple things that might project large in a recruit's mind. These simple things might be the coaches sideline behavior, or the coaches relationship with star players, or how fans react when the team is behind, or even how well fans recognize and receive a visiting recruit. 

Pahokee pipeline

It' good to see the Pahokee kids do well for Michigan as I understand from a sports documentary there is plenty of potential talent in that area.  I think Brandin played well enough to get some serious playing time this season - the young man has a future a Michigan.

True, but...

It's called finding a way to win - which means this is the type of game we would have normally lost but Denard reached deep inside for the fortitude to get the job done against tremendous odds.  Of course Denard did not win this game alone, as all our guys contributed in a huge way to make it a team effort in coming from behind to win with little time left.

Looks to me...

Like the seemingly underthrown TD passes in the end zone were by design, which seem to be a variation of the back shoulder throw.  Denard also threw a couple of "jump" balls.  A QB is going to have a few off target passes in every game, but I'll buy the team's two minute drill everytime.

Pride - past and future...

When we came out on the wrong side of a few games - I may have cried, but our grand tradition help me maintain pride

When we fought for a bit of respect and really really tried...losing was hard to take, but the team resilience helped to strengthen my pride

With Hoke & Associates we can turn it all around and reverse the three year slide...now I'm  filled with hope and again bursting with pride