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Recent Comments

Date	Title	Body
6 weeks 2 days ago	All heart, no shame	I was so glad to be more than pleasantly surprised at how deep in the tournament this team went. They played the #1 seed as tough or tougher than any other team did and just came up short. Very proud of the boys in Blue tonight.
7 weeks 5 days ago	Love that turnaround jumper	McGary's offense is just getting better.
7 weeks 5 days ago	Didn't think we'd pull this one out	Glad to be wrong.
8 weeks 6 days ago	D was solid	The guys moved/rotated well and kept SDSU from getting too many easy inside shots. Left a few guys open, but that happens.
8 weeks 6 days ago	Impressive team play	I'll be honest - after the Big Ten tournament loss I wasn't feeling all that confident about the first round (though I didn't put it that tactfully). It was great to see how the rest of the guys stepped up when Burke had an off night. McGary in particular, considering this was only like, what, his third start all season?
9 weeks 6 days ago	I don't disagree	Oh, I'm not saying you want Burke handling the ball all of the time. Just the opposite. You do need to spread it around - and that's precisely the rub. Burke is so good with the ball that sometimes the rest of the team falls into this pattern of leaving it him to take over games. You can only do that so much.
9 weeks 6 days ago	It does seem to be a pattern	...over the last few weeks (in the losses, at least). That's how having a player with Burke's gifts on a young team can be a double-edged sword- the rest of the team falls back into letting Burke take over. Sure, you want a guy like him handling the ball, but a team like U-M that hasn't yet developed a really strong inside presence depends that much more on moving the ball around.
9 weeks 6 days ago	You know what? You're right.	I'm sorry for what I wrote upthread. I should have thought more carefully before I wrote it. I am genuinely concerned about the team's chances in the NCAAs, but I could have stated that much better than I did. I've been following this team nearly all of my life, so I'm not a fair-weather fan at all. Nevertheless, I shouldn't have made that comment.
9 weeks 6 days ago	I'm not taking glee at all	I'm frustrated. I want the team to do well, but there's some serious problems they need to fix. Maybe I'm venting too soon. I don't mind being called on that.
9 weeks 6 days ago	Significant chance	Really, would a 4 seed be a surprise?
9 weeks 6 days ago	I'm calling first round upset	U-M will be lucky to get a 4 seed, and they'll be in serious danger of an upset no matter what seed they get, based on how they've played in the last few weeks.
10 weeks 4 days ago	Need to be honest, though	No, this team doesn't suck. They wouldn't be in the top ten if they did. But they've got some key problems that they are going to need to overcome if they expect to win the Big Ten tournament and go deep into the NCAAs. It's not wrong to point that out.
25 weeks 4 days ago	I agree	That's the point I'm trying to make - perhaps I'm not making it very well. When you put Denard in, you know he's looking to run, particularly if he's at QB. Okay, so you put Denard in at RB. Again, the play is a run, unless it's a fake or using Denard as a decoy. If he's not going to run, then that means someone else has to be back there to protect Devin, because Denard's not a blocker and he's already playing with an injury. Now maybe that's a weak point to make, but I'm not being dense. I know what people are arguing for when they say Denard should have been in more. That's all.
25 weeks 5 days ago	I'm not saying Borges bears no responsibility	I'm just saying it's not all on him. Regarding injuries, my point is that while it would have been good to have Denard and Devin on the field at the same time more, you can't just plug in Denard anywhere. He's not going to throw, so you know he's going to run. Maybe he doesn't run, but then he needs to block, which puts him at risk.
25 weeks 5 days ago	This is how I see it	I think it's fair to question some of Borges' decisions, but I think that perhaps his options weren't as expansive as we might think. He has to put the right players on the field, but he can't play too fast and loose with them and make them more vulnerable to injuries or to exacerbating the injuries they already have.
25 weeks 5 days ago	I wouldn't say huge disappointment	Certainly not a failure. I expect Hoke to say that the team will settle for nothing less than a Big Ten championship, but as a fan, this season has gone pretty much along the lines I expected it to. Sure, I'm disappointed about the loss to OSU and I can already hear Buckeyes fans saying that Urban Meyer will rip off ten wins in a row against U-M. But I don't think that will happen. 8-4 isn't a stellar record, but it's a winning record that will put us in a decent bowl against opposition that, at this point, U-M will have a better chance against. When your 4 losses are to teams with a combined 2 losses, and two of those teams have a very real chance at the national championship (and perhaps even a third team if not for sanctions against them), it's not like you can say U-M didn't come to play against teams they should have beaten. I can't say a whole lot about the playcalling in the second half, at least not anything more than what's already been said. But Borges isn't going anywhere and Hoke is getting his players. This team has been getting better and will continue to get better.
26 weeks 4 days ago	Les Miles...	...now with more homophobia!
30 weeks 4 days ago	I was at that game	Felt like a block of ice when I got home and had to warm up in the shower.
30 weeks 4 days ago	Recovering all day from a hangover	So no drinking for me today. Mineral water is about it for me. Happy nonetheless.
30 weeks 4 days ago	I was foolish	While watching the game, I doubted the wisdom of THE_KNOWLEDGE.  I admit my error in straying from the path of enlightenment.
30 weeks 5 days ago	"Five years in a row"	Thank goodness we won't be hearing that again and again.
34 weeks 4 days ago	That's fair	On one hand, it's not unreasonable to expect a senior QB (and three-year starter) to make better decisions with the ball than Denard Robinson made. On the other hand, it's the coaches' job to recognize the skill sets their players have an adjust their game plans accordingly. I recognize what Borges is trying to do with Denard, but maybe after this game, U-M will have to go with a more run-heavy offense (with maybe some short passes thrown in here and there). Of course, defenses will then stack against the run, but Michigan may just have to accept that and find a way around that.
34 weeks 4 days ago	It's not all on Borges	Players have to make the plays, or at least make the right decisions when a play doesn't go as planned. Denard is still the offensive leader of this team. No one else is ready to step into his shoes. But I had hoped that by now the passing game against quality defenses would have improved  a little more.
35 weeks 5 days ago	They're already whining	I'm watching the ESPN GameCast; on the Twitter stream linked to the GameCast, someone called "@bucksinsider" tweeted "OSU making Maynard look the the superstar he isn't." Heh.
35 weeks 5 days ago	OSU not looking sharp	It looks like Cal mistakes are what's keeping OSU in the lead. Miller doesn't look good at all, and Maynard's having a pretty good day so far.
36 weeks 4 days ago	Don't forget...	...Dave Diebolt!
37 weeks 3 days ago	Man, that's deep	when this revelation is proved to be accurate as time makes the future the past   THE_KNOWLEDGE must be MGoBlog's resident Zen philosopher.
37 weeks 4 days ago	We all still support this team	We wouldn't be here on MGoBlog if we didn't. It's just that we're still processing this loss, because it not only showed just how good Alabama is, but how far U-M has to go to compete at that level. That's a hard lesson to learn when we all want so much to believe that U-M is an elite team. But they're not right now. I still think this team has a good chance at a reasonably successful season: a winning record and a bowl game. Possibly the Big Ten championship, but there are considerable roadblocks in the way of that. Our expectations, given the talent we have now, are just going to have to be more modest than perhaps we would have liked.
37 weeks 4 days ago	There was one throw early in the game	I may not be remembering this right (beer and whiskey will do that), but I seem to recall an early pass play in the game where the Michigan receiver clearly had the defender beat. If Robinson connects on that, it's likely six points, or at least deep into Alabama territory. But the throw was off, the receiver had to twist backward, and the defender got a hand on it (or so it looked). One play, I know, but it's indicative of a consistent problem of Robinson and it's a key problem because it makes defending him easier. I like Robinson and he does have great talent, but I don't have confidence right now that he is the QB to take Michigan to the next level. No one else on the team can step into his shoes, so he's the man for now.
37 weeks 4 days ago	I see your point, but...	...that gets me down at the same time. We have to set our goals lower because it's clear we can't compete with the best teams in the country.

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