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13 years 5 months
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Love you guys.  Let's get…

Love you guys.  Let's get this fucking thing done.  GO BLUE. 

Three words to describe this team:

RESILIENCY

TEAM

LEGNDS

I've had 247 and On3 (old…

I've had 247 and On3 (old Rivals) for about 3 years now.  They have their pros and cons.  Personally, I think the real value of these sites isn't necessarily even the mods but other posters some of who are somewhat plugged in and / or are coaches who do breakdowns and explain things there.  On 247 it's contown (former M walk-on) and TateForciersJockStrap, and on On3 MGoShark is a good one.

I like On3 better than 247.  

247 has Sam, who I do like but is a pure program mouthpiece.  He's a huge fan, and he's also a lot of fluff.  Tons of overly positive material, including on recruits who we really had no shot for.  He'll continue to pump them up.  Steve Lorenz is ok for recruiting, not bad, not amazing.  The issue there is that there's really no depth.  I don't know who else adds much value.  They also have this complete clown, Dotman, as a mod.  I can't imagine anyone more self-important than that guy...  talk about full of yourself.  His information-to-bullshit ratio is way, way too poor.  Terrible idea for him to be a mod.  For whatever reason, Dotman is Warde's lapdog and defends him at every turn.  I don't know how or why, since it's pretty objective that Warde sucks.  Sam also seems neutral at worst on Warde.

On3 - I do feel like Balas is plugged in on the team stuff.  I like Balas, and I do think he calls it like he sees it.  For example, while they try to refrain from directly criticizing Warde, it's very much understood and implied that he's been opposing NIL at every turn as well as dragging his feet with the Harbaugh stuff (I feel like I shouldn't have to point it out, but I will - this should be obvious to everyone, since Santa keeps having to come in and do Warde's job, never a good sign).  EJ Holland, while a divisive figure, is by far the best recruiting guy I've seen on any site going back 15 years or so I've followed Michigan football.  He also is not afraid to call it like he sees it.  The others on the staff are also decent.

Overall, On3 seems to be more objective than 247 which is just sunshine and rainbows all the time.  I find that to be the biggest difference, as well as in evaluating Warde / the AD.  

A final word...  I think people should manage expectations with this stuff.  There is so much infighting between the sites on who's right, who's wrong, who has the best info etc.  In reality, I've seen both places mess up or get things wrong, and I've seen both places get things right.  No one bats 100%, because guess what, things change!  People can change their views and decisions, and there's a ton of variables.  I don't get why fans say omg they were wrong or they flip-flopped...  it's like, dude, shit happens and things change.  So long as you don't expect perfection, it's pretty fun to follow and feel more in-tune with the program.

Again, I would stress the biggest reason I spend the money is for access to some of those power posters and not necessarily just the mods.

I'd be thrilled if Colson…

I'd be thrilled if Colson turns out to be what he says.  All the physical talent is there, but right now he hasn't put it together.  Our LBs were not good against OSU and TCU...  felt like we would have had a hard time staying in that OSU game had Day not inexplicably gone away from the run.

Thanks for all your work…

Thanks for all your work Patrick - these look great as usual.  Appreciate you.

Same question!

Same question!

Ah got it, so easier on…

Ah got it, so easier on Android.  Unfortunately I have an iPhone.  Thanks.

The games were just…

The games were just streaming live on the default Youtube app?

I moved to London recently…

I moved to London recently and am in your boat.  Can you please share what app you are using to spoof location as well as how you are casting to the TV?  Thanks!

Amazing content, thanks Seth.

Amazing content, thanks Seth.

Maybe it was more in my head…

Maybe it was more in my head, but I feel like the majority of stuff I've been reading is people blaming either Harbaugh or Warde for the situation.  Forcing one to be the good guy, one to be the bad guy.  Admittedly that might not be on here, as I spend a lot of time on the paywalled forums.  But I wanted to make the case that maybe there's no good or bad guy, and everyone's just human, with their own self motivations to try to enact, without any necessarily ill-intent towards anyone else.  Could just be an unfortunate situation - like I said, neither Jim nor Michigan controls when the NFL decides to hire coaches.

Thanks for sharing, actually…

Thanks for sharing, actually I didn't know at all about Jack's public comments...  paints a pretty clear picture.

Can't disagree there...  but…

Can't disagree there...  but it's clearly a preference for the NFL over college / the recruiting grind / etc.  But yeah, not really a great destination.  Says something about his desire to get out of college.

Yeah of course - it's not a…

Yeah of course - it's not a big deal, I just find it ironic given what we are all here for...

I don't know that it's just…

I don't know that it's just the COVID year - that pushed it over.  But program on a downward trend before that, with agonizing (historic) beatings against OSU and poor bowl games.

Lol, this is a reminder why…

Lol, this is a reminder why I don't post here much anymore.  A guy puts some time and thought into some content, and a bunch of responses just saying "too long, didn't read it."  Why even respond at all?  Sorry I'm trying to contribute to the conversation, on a message board.

Was Iowa that terrible for…

Was Iowa that terrible for most of its existence?  I actually don't know, I just remember that they've won a national championship at some point and also had a pretty good coach I think in Hayden Fry?

There's some tough, hard-nosed Midwest farm boys in the area (I grew up there with them) that you can make a team full of 4th and 5th year seniors from and be competitive, especially in past decades when Bama-level pay-for-play wasn't yet the standard.  So I haven't thought of them as a particularly structurally disadvantaged program or anything, certainly not on the level of say Iowa State.

That was a long time ago -…

That was a long time ago - Oz has backed out of coaching at UConn and they've already filled the role with someone else.

Thanks for the update.  What…

Thanks for the update.  What makes you think that LF would have any interest in coming?  Has been shot down HARD by many.

This is just completely and…

This is just completely and provably false.  If you actually watched Devin's analyses with Sam, they actually cover Milton during one of the commercial breaks for one of the earlier games.  Devin completely trashes Milton, saying "he's done" and "will never start again."  He goes on to say he has insane physical gifts but can't execute even the very basics of reading a defense.  I think Devin was pretty mad at Milton's actions trashing Michigan on the way out.  There was clearly no love lost at that point.

 

 

 

 

A man can be destroyed but…

A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

(Yes I know Ernest Hemmingway said it first.)

Hey, sorry for trying to at…

Was in a rush and took pic to post later on mobile.  Just trying to contribute information and discussion, don't think there's a need to be a dick about it.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Well, Day has been…

Well, Day has been undefeated in the Big Ten since he took over and we have been...  not.  Make of that what you will I guess.  Seems to me  that it's a result of them being much more talented across the board.  Why do you think it is?

I concur with this…

I concur with this completely, and both can be true: Harbaugh can be a great coach, and Michigan still has only a low-ish chance of beating OSU.  We've had a fantastic season, either way.

The truth hurts, yep.

The truth hurts, yep.

It's even worse, they got…

It's even worse, they got like 3 / 10 of the Top 10 players this last year.  Sigh.

This was just from 24/7…

This was just from 24/7 composite recruiting rankings.  I know rosters move around and players transfer / go to NFL etc.  Making the implicit assumption here that M and OSU are tied in that regard, which I think is actually too beneficial to M because I think we've had more player losses than them in aggregate (given that they pay people to stay / come back).

Hard to disagree with this…

Hard to disagree with this...  it's just a probability thing.  Those kids are likely 90% plus not coming here.  Time and resources probably better off spent elsewhere.

Thanks.  Was the Brown GMatt…

Thanks.  Was the Brown GMatt fight televised?  I don't seem to remember it but lot of smoke around it happening.

I was pissed the refs didn't call it either.

Would be nice...  but I pay…

Would be nice...  but I pay for YouTube premium already (I refuse to waste time on commercials and watch a lot of YouTube, can learn a lot of shit there).  That would be awesome though.

Hahaha touche...

Hahaha touche...

Fair enough.

Fair enough.

Just trying to help people…

Just trying to help people out.  No need to be a dick.

Yes, but cable costs more…

Yes, but cable costs more... that's the main point of YTTV in the first place.

I'm just trying to help.

Our fakes - including on…

Our fakes - including on play action - are plain shit.  That's an indictment on the coaching.  It's something I been screaming at the TV about.  They should watch Peyton Manning teach how to do fakes on YouTube - super impressive.

Seth, excellent work as…

Seth, excellent work as always.  I've really enjoyed the site for a long time now and am so happy to see you take over with content as high quality (higher?) as ever.

I have so many comments / questions on this one...

First, at least there is some positive commentary on Moore and his coaching and what the offensive line is doing.  That's a positive, at least.

Second, I think you said after the WMU game that "you so want to be positively inclined for these coaches, who are presumably coaching for their livelihoods at this point, but you just can't because they keep doing dumbass things" or something to that effect.  I could not agree more.

To summarize some of the issues already pointed out:

Doing a few formations that worked one or twice but never going back to them.

Running what appear to be fake reads.  QBs can't be so inexplicably bad at running these reads - hell, watch Cade vs. Rutgers 2020 every snap video and see how well he executed!  This blows my mind!

Not attacking the edges / getting balls into playmakers' hands when the box is stacked.

Playing our less athletic / far slower tight ends and extra lineman way more often than our highly-recruited and (proven so far this year) effective fast slot guys.

Same as above - not really ever spreading-to-run.

 

But the overarching comment I want to ask your opinion on here is... why?  Why are we not doing what seems like basic things that good high school coaches can / will do?  These include:

 

Doing what works over and over again until they stop it.

Attacking / stressing where the defense isn't.

Not running fake reads (lol) so a numerical advantage is actually gained.

Actually playing to try to score.

 

I mean truthfully, I could go and on but Seth why do you think that - in a year where pretty much all these coaches will get fired if things don't go well - do we not put more risk on the table in order to win?  It's truly mind-boggling.  We should be aiming for the stars instead of turtling - so what if the QB gets hit on a zone read?  If we don't score, and lose, the season and our jobs are all over!  And we have a 5-star backup QB who can play!  Play to win!

It all seems so obvious... I just want to know why, for the love of all the is dear to humanity.

I grew up in Iowa and the…

I grew up in Iowa and the University of Iowa football games were a big draw.  My high school physics teacher was curious on how they came up with the attendance at the games, so at one of them she just straight up asked the facility people.  They told her that they might have some sort of ballpark figure based on sales or turnstiles or whatever, but for the most part it's actually just made up within a range that seemed pretty wide (like +/- 5000).

Take that for what it's worth, but but it does sound somewhat plausible...  how do you get to 108,345 for example and not just ~108K or something?

Exactly right.

Exactly right.

For the love of god please…

For the love of god please just actually try to score.

For the love of god please…

For the love of god please just actually try to score.

For the love of god please…

For the love of god please just actually try to score.

Well this sure is the…

Well this sure is the opposite of Joe Moorehead and Oregon...

Oregon was also missing…

Oregon was also missing Justin Flowe as well as some other defensive players I believe.  To me the various losses on the two teams seemed to easentially cancel each other out.

I don't understand people…

I don't understand people saying "who did Ole Miss play?"

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/mississippi/2020/gamelog/

Last year against Florida, Bama, and LSU they averaged 7.9, 7.5, and 7.4 ypp.  Michigan averaged 4.9 ypp against Alabama in our bowl matchup at the end of the 2019 season.

This is a really fair post…

This is a really fair post making good counterpoints, thanks.

I thought I read somewhere…

I thought I read somewhere that MacDonald himself said that he thinks that Dax will be a CB in the NFL.

I think Seth said well in…

I think Seth said well in the UFR one of the key differences between our offense and Ole Miss.  We still inexplicably keep running fake read plays with the QB and lighting downs on fire lol.  We burned a ton of opportunities doing that.

Meanwhile look at Kiffin's offense and how the QB is nearly flawlessly reading it.  If we aren't going to read, why run the fucking play?  Just line it up and run it straight up and let our better athletes win.

Great job Seth.  The fake…

Great job Seth.  The fake read stuff is just massively mind-boggling, and part of the difference between the thread I started on Ole Miss's offense and ours.

You are ignoring what that…

You are ignoring what that offense with the same QB did vs. Bama last year.

I wanted to comment based on…

I wanted to comment based on all the responses.

First, I am not trying to be critical of UM's offense on Saturday.  It was awesome.  But it doesn't seem to schematically force the opponent to be wrong as much as what I saw on this Ole Miss tape.  And we can say that Ole Miss did it against Louisville but we played a MAC team.  Ole Miss did this same thing against Bama last year.  Objectively, it's been a better offense at scoring points than ours, over a bigger sample size.

Second, I see a lot of comments on "protecting" the defense with an offense that isn't as tempo oriented or "quick scoring."  I think there is an element of truth to it certainly but consider the other side of the argument.  First, your defense should be good enough to force some 3 and outs sometimes.  They can be responsible for not playing as long, all by themselves.  Second, and more importantly, do you know what else makes life easier on your defense?  Having a huge lead!  Then the opposing offense becomes more one-dimensional and desperate as they try to catch up, which likely forces more errors.  And finally, I played sports through high school, and I can tell you it's super demoralizing when you have to play down multiple scores.  Conversely, I felt free to just attack and apply pressure when we were up multiple scores.  Players aren't automations...  morale matters a lot.  Someone with that black, sinking feeling of desperation once again is going to play bad offense, most likely.  Just see Michigan football in 2020 for an example close to home.

Vastly different opponents…

Vastly different opponents here.