Angry rhetoric aside, your position boils down to this: you want Michigan to succeed, believe Rodriguez will bring success to the program, but refuse to endorse everything he does.
I don't have a problem with that. Rodriguez is a coach, not a god.
I think we could have a good conversation about RRod. Appreciate the thoughtful answer and hope you are right about his ability to bring in diamonds in the rough. Hi carat polished talent too.
I think RRod is getting the players he can get. I hope that he wants them. Reading this blog for the last year, I think its the bloggers who question if he's getting the right players. The commentariat has shifted from high expectation when RRod was announced -- "imagine what kind of 4-5 star classes he'll bring in now that he's at an elite program"-- to the unquestionable belief that that low 4 star and 3 star players are necessary complement of 1) a 3-9 season, 2) the requirements of the spread offense, & 3) the resulting "tweener" recruits who don't fit the star rating system.
Stop reading whenever the feeling moves you, oh master of metaphor! I would love to see a space emperor turning around the empty ship . . . keep treading water at the door of opportunity, B&BS
I think he would do great with a top 10 class that stayed committed to the program. About the winning, I'm all for it. How long will it take for the winning and the recruiting to be back, Steve?
Dear King,
I think I struck a nerve in the herd. Appreciate your thoughtful comments.
Interesting that the great compact majority did disagree with my example of Bo, Mo, and Lloyd trying different schemes.
I think something is not right in RichRodland when we lose both Beaver and Campbell, two of our highest rated commits at two of our neediest positions. We have to be concerned that with Campbell leaving, we will have lost significant in-state recruiting. The state's best players are going to warmer climes like Florida, California, Louisiana, and while this began under LC's regime, RichRod has not stopped the bleeding. It may be getting worse.
Fact is, no other Big Ten team--or Notre Dame--has seen so many of its high-profile commits decide to decommit. As several others point out on this thread, RR's status as an offensive innovator, spread formation genius, and dynamic coach should not only be attracting the top dual-quarterback talents, but retaining their commitments. These are facts. More facts: we received commitments from Kevin Newsome and Shavrodrick Beaver and each subsequently decommited. More facts: LSU, not known for emphasizing the spread a la RR, won Russell Shepard's commitment over UM. Rivals rates Shepard as the #1 dual-threat QB.
I don't question RR's coaching record or recruiting abilities and believe that he will continue to attract top talent. Some of the top players he recruits, like Pryor and Shepard, may not choose us. That's ok--LSU the tOSU have been very successful recently, as we all know.
But given the high rate of our decomits, I'm worried that our highest-rated recruits, and maybe some prospects that we should "logically" have landed, are picking up bad vibes somewhere in the recruiting process.
"Overall: there's a ding from the McNeal departure and if Campbell doesn't rejoin the fold it'll be a huge disappointment; other than that the decommit hullaballoo is a lot of hype with little impact."
I think we just felt big impact, Brian.
Kevin Newsome, Bryce McNeal, William Cambell, Shavrodrick Beaver. Who's next? What are these recruits sensing?
Is there another Big Ten school that has seen their highest rated recruits decommit to the degree we have? Doesn't seem to be a problem at tOSU, Penn State, MSU. Nor ND. At some point, even the RR dittoheads on this board might get a clue that something just isn't right in the new regime.
Hey Brian, if you're looking to fix/add/change the site, I would love to see you add a rumor mill. It would spice up the dead period between end-of-season and end of recruiting, spring training, between games, and etc.
For example, what's with McGuff missing the team bash?
Hey Brian, if you're looking to fix/add/change the site, I would love to see you add a rumor mill. It would spice up the dead period between end-of-season and end of recruiting, spring training, between games, and etc.
For example, what's with McGuff missing the team bash?
Brian, take off the blinders. Losing McGuffie hurts, big time. I think -no offense to the kids--that the rats know when the ship is sinking. Look at the number who have left, transferred, committed elsewhere after naming us leaders, and most damning, made and then dropped their commitments. It's an ugly picture.
At some point, you need to stop blaming the kids who don't come / transfer / decommit, and ask seriously if the problem lies elsewhere. Hint: our new coach isn't doing very well.
Maybe your sources can shed some light on why Michigan no longer seems to be a recruiting beacon to 5 star kids.
Disgruntled old fan.
I've followed Michigan football since 1960. I've NEVER seen a Michichan team play this badly for a whole season. Even when Woody laid on the epic 50 point beat down of Bump Elliot's team, Michigan did not quit on its season. Nor did it routinely give up touchdowns to all comers.
Comments I've read continue to blame this disaster on the players and to absolve Rodriguez and his staff of responsibilty for a team that looks totally out of synch. When MSU or ND suffered through a season like this, I remember the Mgobloggers mocking head coachesJohn L Smith and Charley Weiss as incompetent idiots. Last year, Dantonio was been derided as a cave man coach.
OK, fair enough. Both MSU and ND were terrible the last 2-3 years.
But please explain why NONE OF THIS YEAR's DEBACLE should not be placed at the doorstep of Rodriguez? I mean, he did hire his assistant coaches, and fire all but one of Carr's staff, right? Comments on this blog keep blaming the players for being freshman, inexperienced, confused by the new schemes, stupid, etc. There's some truth there, especially given the inexperience at QB, the losses on the offensive line, and the "transition" to the spread offense. But last time I looked, Michigan's defense did not have to make the same kind of leap that the offense did in going from a pro set to the spread. In fact, all the defense had to to do was build on some of the strengths they already had, and try to improve their weaknesses.
Hasn't happened. All we hear about is the need to for our players to get better at tackling, covering receivers, staying in lanes, etc. Gosh, I thought that the coaches job was to help players improve. Our players may not be the best in the Big 10, but does anyone really think that we've got the WORST PLAYERS??
If this disaster continues through 2009, Rich Rod will be on the way out before Jan 1, 2010.
Recent Comments
Lynn Henning is on the money.
I've followed Michigan football since 1960. I've NEVER seen a Michichan team play this badly for a whole season. Even when Woody laid on the epic 50 point beat down of Bump Elliot's team, Michigan did not quit on its season. Nor did it routinely give up touchdowns to all comers.
Comments I've read continue to blame this disaster on the players and to absolve Rodriguez and his staff of responsibilty for a team that looks totally out of synch. When MSU or ND suffered through a season like this, I remember the Mgobloggers mocking head coachesJohn L Smith and Charley Weiss as incompetent idiots. Last year, Dantonio was been derided as a cave man coach.
OK, fair enough. Both MSU and ND were terrible the last 2-3 years.
But please explain why NONE OF THIS YEAR's DEBACLE should not be placed at the doorstep of Rodriguez? I mean, he did hire his assistant coaches, and fire all but one of Carr's staff, right? Comments on this blog keep blaming the players for being freshman, inexperienced, confused by the new schemes, stupid, etc. There's some truth there, especially given the inexperience at QB, the losses on the offensive line, and the "transition" to the spread offense. But last time I looked, Michigan's defense did not have to make the same kind of leap that the offense did in going from a pro set to the spread. In fact, all the defense had to to do was build on some of the strengths they already had, and try to improve their weaknesses.
Hasn't happened. All we hear about is the need to for our players to get better at tackling, covering receivers, staying in lanes, etc. Gosh, I thought that the coaches job was to help players improve. Our players may not be the best in the Big 10, but does anyone really think that we've got the WORST PLAYERS??
If this disaster continues through 2009, Rich Rod will be on the way out before Jan 1, 2010.