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I've seen a lot of talk…

I've seen a lot of talk about Pep and Jedd but where are the mentions of Mattison?

Harbaugh took a man who rescued our defense from historical lows to top ten every year -- in part by being one of the best recruiters in the country -- and demoted him for Don Brown.

I know Brown is revered around these parts but, imo, he's the defensive Rich Rod: Innovative and dominant in the Big East, but the gimmicks fall apart when an OSU level program takes you seriously.

Oh, and they still recruit like they're in the Big East as well. Praise the gems he plucks from Connecticut, but what happened to those 5* d-linemen and corners that Brown needs to keep his defense elite? They left when Mattison did.

I don't blame Matty for leaving for OSU. I blame Harbaugh. Imo, demoting Mattison for Brown was the last straw keeping this team in the national picture. I mean yeah, the lack of offense doesn't help either but DB doesn't give us a chance. He should have been a co-d-coordinator at best. I'm believing in the Mattison curse until Harbaugh is gone.

Never forget:

 

Never forget:

Never forget:

https://www…

Never forget:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKmPQHGsvao

Not saying it's a complexity thing

I'm saying Harbaugh has a bunch of "A" plays -- not based on simplicity or complexity, but on how consistently the players he has can run it well. 

It could be a complex play, but it plays to the strengths of the players he has and when they run it in practice they usually all hit their assignments and get yeards against our beast of a D.



Then you could have a more simple play, but it requires blocks, technique, or manuevers that some of the players still need more work on. A different collection of young players could maybe run this play well most of the time with their skillsets, but not this team.

So again, I really think that Harbaugh is limiting his playcalling in these games where there's basically no threat of loss to plays that his guys still have trouble running consistently. 

Maybe all we have is plays the offense runs inconsistently, but I think he's saving the stuff we run consistently for when it matters.

Limited Playbook?

Am I crazy for thinking that we're mainly running plays that our offense needs the most work on?

Harbaugh couldn't care less about running up the score on AF. All he needed was a win. The only thing he cares about is beating OSU and securing a spot in the playoff.



Spring/Summer/Fall is for evaluating what your teams does well and what it doesn't do as well. Harbaugh has a huge playbook.. probably the biggest in college football.

I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that after spring/summer/fall evaluation they see that there is a certain chunk of the playbook that their guys excell at, a certain chunk that they're mostly solid but still inconsistent at, and a chunk that shows promise but still needs work.



Based on that, the coaches build out their best plan for beating OSU. The thing is, the optimal scenatio for doing that will be running some of those plays that show promise but need work.

That optimal scenatio also includes holding as much back as possible before OSU. Like Gary said in his recent interview (highly entertaining), "y'all ain't seen nothing".

For games like Florida you have to show more of your "good" basket than you'd like, but against Cinci and AF, the optimal scenatio says that you exclusively use plays that show promise but need work. This gives your young team as many live reps with them as they can get before a W is on the line.

I feel like we won't get a glimpse of what this offense is actually capable of until Harbaugh feels the threat of losing a game. That's the only scenario he'll dip into the plays we don't need as much work on and flex his (and his staff's) superior coaching abilities.

Tl;dr I could be the homerest of homers, but the offense will be fine and it's kind of silly to judge it until probably PSU

Lol

I actually don't think the uniforms are that bad, but saying "the lid" and "the kicks" gives that special kind of cringe like only ND can.

WDE vs SDE?

Is that a fair comparison?

Beating an LT? Now you might have an argument.

Doing that, and also being able to crumple a TE and toss aside a pulling guard like they don't exist? There's a reason why Gary was the unanimous #1. 



There's also a reason why OSU fans, "expect there to be a lot of arguments the next two years": I'd do mental gymnastics to escape the pain of Gary playing for the other team as well.

Edit: Spelling

Coaching Big vs Small Backs

Hey Magnus (or any of the coaches on the board),

Watching the Evans interview one thing that stuck out was how he said numouous times that he liked Coach Jay better because his coaching was more tailored to the skillsets of small backs than Coach Wheatly's, who was a 'big back' guy.

So, what's the difference? What kind of things are the backs learning now that they weren't learning before?

Thanks, and if this was already discussed in another thread I apologize.

Well said

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7vtWB4owdE

Hyperbole or Not...

Edit: Bacon got his post in first and said it more concisely. 

Happy birthday WD! And thank you for your contributions to this space!

(No subject)

(No subject)

I like it.

I like it.

Brian knows how I feel about

Brian knows how I feel about him. I check the site 99% of days.

And I totally see where he's coming from, lately I get more anxious reading half of the comments on here. I can't wait for whatever changes he has in mind (even if it means banning me)

Thanks anonymous dog ;-)
I'm

Thanks anonymous dog ;-)

I'm actually kind of excited to see what he's got 'cooked' up (swidt) 

You make a good point in that

You make a good point in that my idea's probably unnecessary overkill

I just felt that when someone

I just felt that when someone represents themself instead of an avatar they're less likely to be an asshat. Obviously people can be anonymous and be normal (see: you) but I feel that's not always the case.

Even though I'm most likely wrong

My bet is that accounts will be tied to FB.

No more anonimity, and once you're banned you're pretty much banned.

Like I said, I'm probably wrong but this would almost make sense.

Go Blue!

Beat Ohio.

Fuck Ohio

Fuck Ohio

Well fuck shit damn

Thanks for the much needed laugh. This is why I love this site.

Fearing the worst for what

Fearing the worst for what you love most and attempting to mentally prepre yourself for what most people would say will be a painful experience is a natural defense mechanism.

That's probably caring a little too much (although don't tell me my love is wrong) - it's the opposite of fairweather.

Everyone deals with pain differently - let's not judge different reactions when it's all coming from the same place.

Edit: I was in the crowd back in '95 chanting "Eddie Who" (I was in middle school) - and right now I wish I was still that kid who thought Michigan would win no matter what and anyone who said otherwise was crazy (pours out a little for lost innocence) 

Objectively, I couldn't agree

Objectively, I couldn't agree with you more.

At the same time though, I can understand the feelings of those who wouldn't want to watch Old Yella - their beloved childhood friend - take a shotgun blast to the head.

Also, it's kind of a classic ogre's deal here: lose, and we lose to Ohio. Win, and Borges probably keeps his job for what we can reasonably expect to be another mediocre season. I'm not saying I want us to lose - I'm just saying I can understand, which makes me even sicker.

Once again, I'll be glued to my live stream next week (need to be in bed for this) but I'm not going to get self-rightous on people who are so numb inside that they're saying things they'd thought they'd never say.

(PS I've been drinking)

It would have gotten buried elsewhere but at this point and current state of the board - like it really matters:

My biggest pet peev right now? People throwing around the term "fairweather fan" at guys who are extremely passionate about this team yet are dissatisfied with the product on the field.

If we didn't care about this team we wouldn't be posting on this board right now. "Support" for Michigan football doesn't mean we blindly cheer for mediorcrity (to put it kindly). If you feel like you want to vomit because this offense is so bad... that's the opposite of jumping off the bandwagon - that's getting sick of the bandwagon breaking down while you refuse to leave.

Yes, I hate Ohio and my soul will be tied to this team next weekend - but it pains me to see what this offense has become and while I'll always support Michigan, I can't support the coach (Al Borges) I feel is mainly responsible for the team I love being in the shitter.

No one would post a word here who didn't love the Maize and Blue more than most things in life - let's stop taking our frustrations out on each other.

 

Nailed it

Nailed it

Miley won when you cared.

Miley won when you cared.

My guess on the RB depth is

My guess on the RB depth is that the coaches are listing them in order of who would be best to play in the upcoming game.

One of the main things the coaches want is consistency. Right now the freshmen don't know the offense well enough to be as consistent as the upperclassmen, and can't be trusted in a game situation just yet. I'd be surprised if their names didn't hop up the depth chart as the season progressed.

 

I'll go with Stribling as my pick, passing Taylor by midseason and being a solid B1G corner. Nothing against Taylor. I hope he can hold his spot, but you made me guess.

All I really want to know

All I really want to know about CMU is how closely their O and D resembles the Irish to know whether or not we'll get some good practice in for UTLII

1st team o-line seemed to

1st team o-line seemed to hold its own against the 1st team defense. 

2nd team defense, one the otherhand, seems a step ahead of 2nd team o-line. This actually hold pretty well with what Mattison has been saying about the D being two deep at almost every position (Joe Reynolds still owned the 2nd team secondary).

This is why I wish we could

This is why I wish we could still upvote posts.

Pepp...

Pepp...

That's because this post

That's because this post already has the perfect number of upvotes.

Are you forgetting that Chad

Are you forgetting that Chad Henne is a robot?

Grady was at Skeeps a lot.

Grady was at Skeeps a lot. Word o n Green is he's a very hard worker.

Very well said. What I

Very well said. What I wouldn't give for a few days just to follow that man around.

As a coach myself who's studied as many coaches as I could (Bo's Lasting Lessons rocked my world), Brady Hoke is something special. Talk about an example that we'd be lucky to live up to. All of us, from we who take pride in this team, to those who actually get to be mentored by him, are really fortunate that he's our coach.

Edit: PS I was skeptical at his hiring, man, crow never tasted so good

I think we need to be more

I think we need to be more understanding.

I mean everyone in the world punches women in the face, steals from you, steals from me.

"Best ever by one team in

"Best ever by one team in summer league today"

Best ever announcing today.

Doom!

Nothing like back to back incredible drive/assists in crunch time

He'll definitely have to get

He'll definitely have to get quicker on D, but I wouldn't sell his offensive ceiling short.

He's just testing the waters now. Once the dust settles and he finds out exactly what he can and can't do, he may end up more of a facilatator but he may also end up dominating again. I mean I have no idea which one it'll be, but I'm enjoying watching the process. 

He used his speed and quickness to get those couple good looks at the basket before the half. They didn't fall this time but if he can consistently do that then they will.

Edit: Ooh, that ally-oop from deep was nice. I'm sure practicing them with GRIII last year helped.

Drawing fouls like a mother

Yeah, it looks like he's

Yeah, it looks like he's adusting but still looking very sharp.

Edit: Still a little hesitant, basically always being guarded by the best defender he faced in college. That vintage drive/foul made me smile.

Edit2: Already looking more confident. Dribbling nowhere a bit too much but it was cool how he immediately backnowledged it. Still working on the timing/angle of his floater - still great at drawing contact in the paint.

I did it awhile ago. Took

I did it awhile ago. Took some getting used to (and streaming live sports used to be a lot less enjoyable a few years ago) but now there's no doubt that I'll never go back to that.

It's really easy to watch whatever you want.  I'm not very good at computers but I figured it out. I stream so I don't worry about copyright lawyers (probably being paranoid) and only have a 5mbps down connection (looking forward to having an option for high-speed other than the current ass-raping duopoly someday) - and yeah, very happy with the setup.

Oh yeah, believe it or not, I don't miss commercials at all.

Edit: My computer is an Acer Aspire One - tis not a beast.

Once you have a couple

Once you have a couple options for streaming sports bookmarked (they usually post a few every liveblog around here) then it's really not a problem to watch whatever sporting event you want around the world. 

I'm in NYC as well, but I

I'm in NYC as well, but I just checked on prices for tickets for this game =(

>$100 for the worst seats is not exactly what I was hoping for

Lol, different Nick Sparks. 

Lol, different Nick Sparks. 

Edit: A quick wiki search of the romance novelist shows that he went to Notre Dame. You can probably give up all hope of crappy romance novel/chick flick recommendations on this board ;-)

Aside from watching any

Aside from watching any movies and tv shows that you have to catch up on, how about all of the little things that you have to do that you don't have time for because of work?

That closet you've been meaning to clean, the leaky faucet you've been meaning to fix, the email you have to write that you've been putting of, the minor but annoying issue that requiers you to be on hold for at least a half hour before finally talking to tech support, etc.

Whatever little things pile up for you, they begin to weigh on the back of your mind, causing your overall focus and energy to become clouded. Knocking them out will make you feel like a thousand bucks. 

Maybe you're the kind of guy who takes care of these little things immediately as soon as they pop up... in that case, maybe there's a new skill, hobby, or project you've been looking to start but haven't had time.

If none of these and you're not leaving your home, well yeah, all I've got is movies and TV.

Thinking of Desmond, Jalen,

Thinking of Desmond, Jalen, Charles, Trey, Martavious, (this list could go on forever) - I'm so proud of the way that our former student-athletes represent themselves and Michigan off the court and field. (In general of course, Braylon's gonna Bray)

While I do love my

While I do love my comfortable pants, and embarassingly admit to buying a pair of skinny jeans when I first moved to NY (the gf at the time pressured me, ok), I believe there's a happy medium. Namely, the way that tailors have been measureing fit in pants for quite some time.

Interesting that the Ron Utah

Interesting that the Ron Utah series came to mind for me while reading as well, although for me it kind of reinforced the theme that caught my attention: that Borges' offense will be about as good as his o-line. If they're good, these weapons could do some serious damage. If not, well, we'll have some growing pains which will hopefully be worked out by Ohio.

I'm really hoping that HTTV gives me some peace of mind in regards to our young interior. In the meantime, are there any diaries I missed showing past red shirt freshmen/sophmore linemen of similar recruiting ranking in their first years playing - possibly showing progression throughout the season and looking for how much difference the coaching staff makes?

I'd make it myself if it doesn't yet exist but I barely got a C- in STATS 100 and my knowledge of Excel is limited to reading spreadsheets.

Ran into him in Sweetwater

Ran into him in Sweetwater Cafe on W Liberty (Across the street from where I first saw/creeped out Brian in real life!) right after I had finished reading Bo's Lasting Lessons (RR had just been hired).

I just told him that I really enjoyed the book and he thanked me and just seemed really warm and genuine, I left with an incredibly positive impression.

Still haven't been able to bring myself to read 3&O though, not ready to relive that just yet.

"Yes, for all possible definitions of "this.""

This line after the Fred Jackson quote made me laugh out loud

Edit: I'm also guessing that most sports bolgs don't make Flaming Lips references either. Oh yeah, that stuff about Fitz and the receivers is cool too. Thanks Brian