Sure. I'm generally a fan of the fancy-stats, but defense seems like it could be a hard thing to capture. The "boring safety" problem – maybe offenses avoid him? maybe the D-line and LBs are so awesome that nothing gets to him? maybe the offenses suck? Who knows?
Maybe they do this already, but a "other teams seem to avoid him" should be a statistic maybe?
At some point, you have to build a culture that is somehow self-perpetuating and self-renewing, that exists apart from an individual leader, or position coach, or whatever. Hopefully, Harbaugh (re)built that culture, and Moore is the guy to keep it going. But there's no use lamenting this or that coordinator or strength coach, or whoever, leaving the program. As long as there's a culture that develops people and gives them more opportunities on the backside than they came in with, we'll be ok.
(At least we can look forward Coach McCarthy coming to resurrect the program in Harbaugh's spirit, if necessary!)
If Harbaugh leaves and Moore takes over, we’ll need a new OC. Why not bring over Brennan Marion? There have been a lot of HCs decamping for blue chip programs. I think given the holes on offense a repeat of ‘23 may be a lot to ask for. But at least you could put together something that would be really fun, and would at least repeat the “we have a hard time against Michigan because no one else plays like them” strategy.
On the Semaj whiff: I was sitting on that side of the field, around the 15 yard line, with an unfortunately clear view of the thing. During warm-ups the guys were out there practicing receiving punts at the spot where he dropped it – the sun was really bright in that corner of the field, and they were dropping quite a few in practice, trying to track the ball in the air. A foreboding sign, and certainly a factor that complicated an already difficult catch.
(Interestingly, Edwards was also fielding punt returns, *and* warming up on throws. Only saw one of those play out in the game...)
Regardless, epic game. All-time team. And thanks for the work this year. MGoBlog makes the season so much more fun. Go Blue!
I'm 100% behind the team, but the school does need to get its act together. Between the Weiss thing and this, I mean, it's been said a lot, but whoever is vetting these candidates and whoever is responsible for keeping everyone on the straight-and-narrow is not doing his job. And it doesn't reflect well on Jim, as much as I'm also a fan of him.
It doesn't feel good, but settlements rarely do. Ultimately, it's better to just take our lumps, get Jim back for the Playoffs, and allow the players to focus on the games.
I'd suggest, though, that Michigan seriously consider whether it wants to be a part of the conference given its behavior.
I remember going there on a beautiful warm Fall afternoon in shorts and a t-shirt, and being completely frozen by the end of the game. (Underscoring Craig's comment.) I don't know what the run-time was, but it was a very long game. But it was a very fun game, especially in the students' section.
I appreciate Seth’s appreciation of Sean Clifford. He seems to get a lot of grief from PSU fans, etc. but I’ve always found him to be a fun, admirable player. Taking a beating, of course…
I've been a Harbaugh defender consistently. But with this game he lost me. I'd rather go take a flyer on some young creative guy. Take the program down to the studs, and re-build it.
The thing that bothers me is the offensive approach. Every team in CFB has some weakness to work around. But it seems that we just ignore our weaknesses and game plan away.
I guess we’ll see in the UFR, but why not have any more screen plays, or sweeps, or any mis-direction, or anything to keep ND’s defense from just loading up and overwhelming our line? I thought it was a mistake to go to the 0-0, empty-backfield look the first time I saw it – and it didn’t even come close to working. But we still went back to it 3-4 more times during the game, all with zero success. At the very, very least, Runyan should have spent the whole game with a TE next to him.
I expected Harbaugh would be more creative than he’s shown himself to be. Hopefully they will be able to figure it out.
It's been a painful and disappointing season. I don't care so much about the record - the team just looked defeated most of the season, lucky to scrape out what wins they were able to get.
This game was different. They lost, but they lost playing well. That counts for a lot in my book.
Couldn't agree more. I spent last night counting "1 - 1thousand" when Alabama snapped the ball. They generally got the ball out of McCarrons hands before three. DG is still dropping back by that point. The patterns seem to take 6-7 seconds to develop.
“Yeah. He hasn’t taken a rep at quarterback in a long time. That would not be a smart move.”
Really? "Not a smart move?" I mean, at a certain point (mid way through the 3d quarter), the game was obviously lost. Wasn't it worth a shot? I'd have put one-handed-Denard back in the game. Or run the whole thing as a wildcat. Or anything to move the ball forward.
A trip to Ann Arbor on November 28th should be just the trick to get the San Diego native to commit... Nothing says "come live in Michigan" more than 34 degree weather, grey skies, and a bit of rain.
Recent Comments
Sure. I'm generally a fan of the fancy-stats, but defense seems like it could be a hard thing to capture. The "boring safety" problem – maybe offenses avoid him? maybe the D-line and LBs are so awesome that nothing gets to him? maybe the offenses suck? Who knows?
Maybe they do this already, but a "other teams seem to avoid him" should be a statistic maybe?
Yes, been thinking about this as well.
At some point, you have to build a culture that is somehow self-perpetuating and self-renewing, that exists apart from an individual leader, or position coach, or whatever. Hopefully, Harbaugh (re)built that culture, and Moore is the guy to keep it going. But there's no use lamenting this or that coordinator or strength coach, or whoever, leaving the program. As long as there's a culture that develops people and gives them more opportunities on the backside than they came in with, we'll be ok.
(At least we can look forward Coach McCarthy coming to resurrect the program in Harbaugh's spirit, if necessary!)
If Harbaugh leaves and Moore takes over, we’ll need a new OC. Why not bring over Brennan Marion? There have been a lot of HCs decamping for blue chip programs. I think given the holes on offense a repeat of ‘23 may be a lot to ask for. But at least you could put together something that would be really fun, and would at least repeat the “we have a hard time against Michigan because no one else plays like them” strategy.
On the Semaj whiff: I was sitting on that side of the field, around the 15 yard line, with an unfortunately clear view of the thing. During warm-ups the guys were out there practicing receiving punts at the spot where he dropped it – the sun was really bright in that corner of the field, and they were dropping quite a few in practice, trying to track the ball in the air. A foreboding sign, and certainly a factor that complicated an already difficult catch.
(Interestingly, Edwards was also fielding punt returns, *and* warming up on throws. Only saw one of those play out in the game...)
Regardless, epic game. All-time team. And thanks for the work this year. MGoBlog makes the season so much more fun. Go Blue!
I'm just going to be watching this game wondering why I can't just switch to Louisville-FSU yet.
I'm 100% behind the team, but the school does need to get its act together. Between the Weiss thing and this, I mean, it's been said a lot, but whoever is vetting these candidates and whoever is responsible for keeping everyone on the straight-and-narrow is not doing his job. And it doesn't reflect well on Jim, as much as I'm also a fan of him.
It doesn't feel good, but settlements rarely do. Ultimately, it's better to just take our lumps, get Jim back for the Playoffs, and allow the players to focus on the games.
I'd suggest, though, that Michigan seriously consider whether it wants to be a part of the conference given its behavior.
toga. toga. Toga. Toga. Toga! Toga! TOGA! TOGA!
I remember going there on a beautiful warm Fall afternoon in shorts and a t-shirt, and being completely frozen by the end of the game. (Underscoring Craig's comment.) I don't know what the run-time was, but it was a very long game. But it was a very fun game, especially in the students' section.
I appreciate Seth’s appreciation of Sean Clifford. He seems to get a lot of grief from PSU fans, etc. but I’ve always found him to be a fun, admirable player. Taking a beating, of course…
Thank you so much for that. I was there – 7 years old – and remember "The Play" vividly. But I had no idea about the lead-up. Genius.
Thank God… at first I thought the commit was the kid in the photo with the ball. That was scary.
I've been a Harbaugh defender consistently. But with this game he lost me. I'd rather go take a flyer on some young creative guy. Take the program down to the studs, and re-build it.
The thing that bothers me is the offensive approach. Every team in CFB has some weakness to work around. But it seems that we just ignore our weaknesses and game plan away.
I guess we’ll see in the UFR, but why not have any more screen plays, or sweeps, or any mis-direction, or anything to keep ND’s defense from just loading up and overwhelming our line? I thought it was a mistake to go to the 0-0, empty-backfield look the first time I saw it – and it didn’t even come close to working. But we still went back to it 3-4 more times during the game, all with zero success. At the very, very least, Runyan should have spent the whole game with a TE next to him.
I expected Harbaugh would be more creative than he’s shown himself to be. Hopefully they will be able to figure it out.
It's been a painful and disappointing season. I don't care so much about the record - the team just looked defeated most of the season, lucky to scrape out what wins they were able to get.
This game was different. They lost, but they lost playing well. That counts for a lot in my book.
Go Blue.
Hoke said Gardner was not considered at all?
“Yeah. He hasn’t taken a rep at quarterback in a long time. That would not be a smart move.”
Really? "Not a smart move?" I mean, at a certain point (mid way through the 3d quarter), the game was obviously lost. Wasn't it worth a shot? I'd have put one-handed-Denard back in the game. Or run the whole thing as a wildcat. Or anything to move the ball forward.