jfs52

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Date	Title	Body
1 year 36 weeks ago	dear the knowledge	i am much admire your the knowledge.  michigan for victory 31-28.  brendan gibbons will become a left footed hero of lore.  it will suprising everyone but myself.
2 years 42 weeks ago	one wonders	greatest part: bear trapped under ice comes to life, creates energy hockey stick and smashes ship that rescuses him? OR earth explodes for no reason? they are both so greatness for so many reasons, it's hard to decide.
2 years 51 weeks ago	detnews comments	Because I am stupid, I read the comments under the Detroit News article just now, and the unwillingness of people to read and understand the specifics of this very frustrating. Most people read the article, cry something like "cheaters never prosper" and then say the coach should be fired and the university burned to the ground. I know, I know, it's my own stupid fault for reading the comments, but yeah. Thanks Brian for posting non-reactionary, informative articles, that reference, you know, facts.
3 years 8 hours ago	strategy is behind	Interesting point Brian brought up at the end - that I think is essentially correct -  about strategy being behind statistics.  I think this is very true, and I always hated when Lloyd punted from the opponent's 38.  This is a great column because it shows how far behind that thinking is.  Despite RR's first few years being....less than stellar....I am encouraged at his risk taking usually and I think he will be much more willing to not punt on the opponent's side of the field.   Couple of things about that though that I think go a long way in explaining the behavior - not excusing of course, but expaining- first, old habits die hard, and back when Lloyd started with Bo, 4th and 7 was a lot different then it is now.  (Actually, I would love to see this chart from a prime Bo year, like 1972 or something, and see what the decision chart looked like then.  I bet back then anything over 4th and 5 anywhere had really low returns.  Then we could see what years current coaches are trapped in!) Anyway, when Carr had Henne and Braylon that 4th and 4 short pass was a very effective play, back in the day it was much less reliable.  One of my principal complaints with Carr was that even though we obviously used Braylon to great effect, we could have used him even more on those stupid 4th and 3's at the Notre Dame 39 instead of punting.  In fact, given Carr's willingness to use short passing much more than Bo I'm surprised he didn't go for that more often.  In that way I totally agree with the column that the decion making is way behind what offenses can actually do now.    But I think what explains that in part is what one might call a strategic decision verus what you might call a tactical one - Carr in general wanted to play a low-variance game.  He wanted a game with no surprises more than he wanted to maximize one possession.  This was usually a good thing for Michigan - against Indiana there was NEVER a reason to take chances no matter what.  There was no reason to maximize one possession because, all things being equal, it was only a matter of time.  And it's important to keep in mind that Carr was good at that part.  What I think a lot of us would liked to have seen is more risk taking (and not even that big of a risk...) in close games where one possession had much more importance.  This is kind of a related question, but due to all the data you had I wondered if you thought it suggested anything along these lines - is there any percentage at all in keeping the game within a score?   Let's say we are down 10-0.  Does that make a field goal make more sense statistically than if we are down 14-0?  I know that kinda falls under game specifics, but I only wonder because I think a lot of coaches make decisions to keep the game within a score, and I was wondering whether there was anything to that or just a preference not to take chances?
3 years 5 days ago	run the damn ball	I do understand that the offense is quite a bit different these days but it is hilarious that the ABC commentators said "Michigan doesn't just run anymore, they pass sometimes" because we were passing so much more than before.  That was 1986, and people are still saying it today.  Also, how about Brent's hat?
3 years 5 weeks ago	that's me!	I am the kid in the blue jacket in the Mike Legg video.
3 years 11 weeks ago	I like this post, because it	I like this post, because it gives you a feel for the allegations. Sadly, there is actually some lapse in all of this on UM's part, and it's a shame, no matter how small the lapses may be. I also like the reasoned approach and can now feel more comfortable than ever in my previously held opinion that the Free Press is a bunch of slobs, and malicious slobs at that. To me, a huge mischaracetization is a huge lie, and I blame a lot of the outcry from the rest of the country on the Free Press. A lot of what this shows, actually, is how useless the NCAA can be. Lots of rules that don't make things any better.
3 years 27 weeks ago	yeah	i have to say, this is about the greatest thing i have ever seen. of course that could be friday morning at work but whatever.
3 years 28 weeks ago	kinda disagree	We did have them on the ropes in the first half, but we didn't take advantage. To me, scoring only 13 after all the opportunities we had wasn't good either. I was extremely concerned after the first half.
3 years 28 weeks ago	on target	I absolutely agree with your 6-6 or 7-5 before the season started, and that people are being too emotional now, because we have a fair shot to end up where we were going to end up generally. However, there is one thing that I find a little dissapointing, though, and of course this will depend on the Purdue game as much as Illinois- if we had beaten Illinois and Purdue, then we could say we took a huge step forward and beaten all the teams we should have beaten, plus maybe one extra, and lost to all the teams better than us, and I would have felt pretty ok about things. It would have been really nice to be absolutely comfortable that we had progressed from last year's disaster to being a real team again. An average or below average big ten team, granted, but a real big ten team. I think part of the reason people are so worked up is that after Illinois they are afraid that no such progress is being made. Illinois is really bad, and has been pounded by pretty much everyone- so I think the fear is that we just aren't getting any better. Is it too early to tell? Of course. Is it just one game? Of course. But, man, it was a stinker. So, I'm not saying that's right necessarily, or that the freak out crowd is right, but at this point it's more than simply whether we hit the 6-6 target or go -1 and go 5-7 or whatever. If we lose to Purdue, and go 5-7, then depending on manner of said loss, I think you could argue- with some fairness- that we really haven't made much progress this year. Maybe 5-7 would be more preogress than it seems, because we didn't lose to a MAC team, but only 1 big ten win would kinda suck. Now, I'm not ready to fire up the torches or anything extreme like that, but like Brian said yesterday, there is really legitimate concern at this point. It feels like every game this year is the most important, but once again Purdue will tell us a lot. If we can beat Purdue, then maybe we did just suck against Illinois and oh, well, shake it off and whatever. But if we lose to Purdue then I think there's a real possibility that something larger is wrong with the team that goes beyond youth or game mistakes. There is a real difference between reactionary whackos and a legitimate cause for concern, and right now I think there is legitimate cause for concern.
4 years 12 weeks ago	nickelback	Yes, making fun of Nickelback is lots of fun. Surely James Buchanan has to be in consideration here. His primary contribution to the presidency was to not intervene when the Southern states started seceding and grabbing control of federal arsenals. All poor WHH did was get pneumonia.
4 years 16 weeks ago	right	i think this current uproar was more about the two players and the response of the school to this specific incident than state over time. i think really the proof of that is that over time state wins. you can't appeal to the lowest common denominator all the time and have a long history of winning. so no, i don't think anyone can reasonably say that state has a long standing committment to hooliganism. more proof: ferris state, which quite obviously does. rough teams that aren't any good.
4 years 16 weeks ago	right	i think this current uproar was more about the two players and the response of the school to this specific incident than state over time. i think really the proof of that is that over time state wins. you can't appeal to the lowest common denominator all the time and have a long history of winning. so no, i don't think anyone can reasonably say that state has a long standing committment to hooliganism. more proof: ferris state, which quite obviously does. rough teams that aren't any good.
4 years 16 weeks ago	not sure	that "forcier exp threet" explains as much as you think it does...especially purdue, where we scored 40+ and lost. surely that one was on the defense, and it was the defense that lost with time running out...
4 years 18 weeks ago	im almost 30	and i must be getting crotchety too because i kinda agree. at least back then it was just a few good games (for the sake of the game) and we really didn't know who was champion. but since we still don't im pretty unsympathetic to the bcs. for nostalgia's sake i watched the 1986 fiesta bowl (jaime morris!) over the holidays and enjoyed it more than any game i watched this year. one caveat: 1997 was kinda annoying. but since the bcs hasn't really helped at all going back to old system doesn't seem so bad.
4 years 22 weeks ago	theory of idiocy	actually i have a theory about that...i think wherever you are the percentage of stupid people is always the same. i did not run into more (or less) idiots at michigan than i have anywhere else.
4 years 22 weeks ago	disagree	RR has proven his ability to use different QBs - although Shaun King at Tulane did get very good rushing yards, he was primarily a passer. Mallet was a good athlete and would have been fine in this offense just like King. I think people over-rely on the "he wasn't right for this offense" memo. He wanted out almost from day one- Carr had to convince him not to tansfer before the season even started. Mallett may have had the PERCEPTION that he wouldn't fit in this O, but that is a misnomer. I would not clalk up any poor outings Threet did have primarily to poor running. That was not among his most glaring defects, actually. If he would have thrown the ball well he'd have been fine. This is not to say RR wouldn't prefer to run- almost any coach would prefer to run. But don't be blinded by Pat White/Steve Slaton. They ran almost always because they had an awesome running game AND were also did not have a super great downfield passing game. If Threet could throw more consistently, he could well be successful in the spread.
4 years 23 weeks ago	kinda agree	with divisions, you have the silly result as this year, but without divisions, you have the possibility of rematches. i know this is a possibility with divisions too, but doesn't no divisions increase the posibility of silly rematches? look at this year- if you took #1 and #2, which have played already, it's possible that the other team wins, the teams are 1-1 against each other, and the only deciding factor is who won last. that doesn't seem quite right. think if the big 10 had a conference championship but no divisions, and the game was simply #1 vs. #2. think about the number of years where this would still have been michigan/ohio state even after the michigan/ohio state game- all those years that m/osu finished #1/#2 in the big ten they just would have had to turn around and play each other again in the conference championship....
4 years 23 weeks ago	i guess we don't need	another person saying sharp is dumb, but man, he just is, so i can't help it. the thing about it is sharp just fixates on the most banal things he can possibly find (as pointed out above) and fixates on it forever. i really don't get it. also, he likes to act like everything occurs to him first, which is only true when he's saying something so asinine it wouldn't have occured to anyone else at all.
4 years 23 weeks ago	actually	just some background on our "dinky tv's" -as far as michigan goes, those boards are pretty new- you obviously didn't attend any games before 1998 (i think it was 98). anybody remember the awesome black rectangular boxes? they didn't take those out that long ago, and i was shocked they did. i'm still thrilled with what we have to be honest...see this 98 michigan daily article http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/nse98/news/news2.html i get your point about the tech, but i also understand people's fear about the game becoming an "experience" rather than a game. i am kind of in agreement with them that if we make stupid gitchy crap possible then stupid gitchy crap will happen. if they started to make wolverine sounds when we make a first down like the crap they do at northwestern and penn state i will tear my diploma into little pieces and mail it back to the universtity (dagnabbit). some old photos: http://www.umich.edu/stadium/history/
4 years 24 weeks ago	liked	the post. yay Catholics.
4 years 24 weeks ago	i did read it	I did read the article in full, but with respect, I still disagree. While I agree that Central and Michigan are different, i think this argument might be a little too nuanced- the only evidence we have of his coaching was a disaster. Accepting your argument for a moment, however, consider that Central was a pretty successful program when DeBord took over, and he immediately drove it into the ground. CMU has been good before and since. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Michigan_Chippewas_football So, actually, DeBord did take the reigns of an already successful program, and didn't do very well.
4 years 25 weeks ago	we dont throw downfield	The passing metric is a little misleading since we throw a large number of 2 yard passes.
4 years 25 weeks ago	um, yes?	Well, actually yes, considering we lost to Toledo this year- so, yes, I would consider beating both Eastern and Western (who beat Illinois and is much better than Toledo) quite an improvement.
4 years 25 weeks ago	ok, but	not all ctiticism is pure negativity. for example, two types of criticism: 1. RR is a shit 2. i might have chosen to run a different play on 3rd and 8. the first is overtly negative, and patently non-constructive. the second simply denotes a difference of opinion. part of the fun of football is arguing about what a coach should have done in a certain situation, what personnel should play, etc. i can get on board with quelling the unconstructive rants about how RR should be tarred, feathered, etc. those are silly. but to say a coach should never be criticized can't be quite right either. i think you're railing against what you see as unfair criticism to a team you love, so fine, but not everyone who has ever offered criticism is simply being a dickhead.
4 years 25 weeks ago	good	as usual. thanks. always enjoy reading these.
4 years 25 weeks ago	yay!	hope its true. where does one obtain these forms? i need mine stamped....
4 years 25 weeks ago	maybe?	not sure what you mean? we were in peace corps...
4 years 25 weeks ago	so, i just realized	that Brian just posted something fairly similar- my only defense is that i wrote this mostly yesterday, at work, if that surprises anyone, before i saw his posting today.
4 years 25 weeks ago	is.....	...that good or bad?

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