NJWolverine

History

Member for
3 years 38 weeks
Blog
View recent blog entries

Karma

Current value
1

Recent Comments

Date Title Body
23 weeks 4 hours ago You're Making a Lot of Assumptions Here

I think you're falling into exactly the trap the Braves and Birds poster was talking about, which is to simply put all your eggs in one basket and tailor everything around him.  That's pretty much the implication of what you said about getting the sure thing recruit.  I disagree completely.  You're taking out a fundamental component of sports (or anything) really, which is competition.  You need to have competition at every position in order to succeed.  The system should be greater than one individual part.  
23 weeks 4 days ago Additional Arguments

I agree with those points generally, and I'll only add these additional points. 

No one except Jay Bilas will argue that Tommy Amaker didn't get a fair shot here.  Even Amaker himself wasn't all that upset when he was fired.  The same goes for Ron English.  Hermann "moved on" and made way for English to install his defenses here.  Both had the full backing of the AD. 

However, there's no denying that there were at least SOME detractors and SOME undermining of Rich Rod.  You could make a strong argument that Rich Rod would have failed regardless (primarily because he can't coach defense), but there's something rather uncomfortable with a Michigan coach (esp. a football coach) not getting full backing.  That has been our tradition, and as much as all his vociferous detractors would like to talk about him undermining our traditions, Michigan violated that tradition as well. 

As for Fuller, I'd much rather have him playing for Rich Rod than for Nebraska.  He would be an upgrade over Martinez because he has a good arm.  Since we play Nebraska every year, that alone makes the post relevant. 
27 weeks 4 days ago Forget ACC/Big East, What about the Big Ten?

Agree on most of the points about Ole Miss, but keep in mind that with Texas A&M and Missouri set to join the conference, realigment would most likely move Alabama to the East. 

In any event, as uncomfortable as it may be, has anyone thought of who Illinois might hire now that the Zooker is on his last breath?  They have a pretty good defense and some athletes on offense. 
28 weeks 1 day ago I Guess I Can Understand

Normally, these types of demonstrations in support of someone in JoePa's situation would disgust me as well.  But you have to understand, JoePa is Penn State.  There's not a single school out there that's defined by football more than Penn State.  The school was NOTHING before JoePa's arrival.  PA students have many local public options like Temple and Pitt (both in the high density population areas).  Plus, the many NJ kids that go there have Rutgers.  Penn State only is a desireable option for somewhat above average students who want the experience of being in a big college town. 

The scandal will set back the school for years to come, more than imaginable.  With all the different types of schools in the area, it's going to be awefully difficult for the school to recover.

It's not a stretch to say that current students and alumni will be tangibly affected by the scandal.  That's what happens when one guy builds the school. 
29 weeks 5 days ago Could We Actually Look at Some Numbers Here???

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/19/the-geography-of-college-foo...

Here are some actual numbers about number of fans and each school's following.  Some takeaways: 

Just 14% of NYC market follows college football (compared to 41% in Atlanta, the heart of SEC country).  However, only 19% of the Chicago market (the heart of the Big Ten market), follows college football, which is actually lower than the Philadelphia market, which stands at 20%.

Of the college football fans in NYC, RUTGERS BEATS EVERY SCHOOL BY A SIGNIFICANT RATIO. 

1.  Rutgers:  20.9%

2.  Notre Dame:  9.2%

3.  Penn State:  6.4%

4.  Connecicut:  5.2%

5.  MICHIGAN:  5.0%

6.  Syracuse:  4.6%

These numbers debunk anyone who says that no one cares about Rutgers in the NYC market.  Now, that doesn't mean we should add Rutgers, or that they would be a good fit culturally.  Of course, if you really feel that way, just say you don't think Rutgers will be a good cultural fit.  That's better than "No" or "I'd rather than 20 teams than Rutgers." 

The numbers also debunk the myth that UConn or Syracuse would be better additions because they would capture a greater share of the NYC market.  As the numbers indicate, Michigan actually captures a larger share than Syracuse and UConn is only slightly ahead of us. 

Of course, the Big Ten doesn't have to try to capture the NYC market.  The numbers aren't enough to admit Rutgers alone IMO, but if Notre Dame wants an east coast partner (they already have a significant east coast presence), adding Rutgers would capture 30% of the NYC market.  Add Penn State and Michigan, and you have over 40% of the market.  Add the remaining Big Ten teams, and you really start to make a dent.  WIth Notre Dame, Penn State and Rutgers, you also shore up the Philadelphia market, which is the 4th largest in the country. 

As an aside, JoePa has been advocating for years to add an east coast school to create a rivalry for them.  He has specifically mentioned Rutgers more than a few times, and might try to threaten to leave for the ACC (with ND) if he doesn't get what he wants.  If it comes to that, I don't think we can even think about losing Penn State (and ND) to the ACC.  So if ND really has to join a conference and doesn't want to lower their standing in football (which is a near certainty if they join the ACC), adding Rutgers as the 14th team is a real possibility, as supported by the numbers.
31 weeks 1 day ago Schiano

Some posters have mentioned the fact that Schiano was quickly offered the job ahead of Rodriguez.  Looking back, that's really significant for a number of reasons.  First, it's pretty convincing evidence that Martin (and his supporters) wanted a clear break from the past.  The direction they were going with Schiano and then Rodriguez is evidence of that. 

Philosophically, Schiano is actually very similar to Michigan's current coaches.  He's a good defensive coach who's done a good job with limited talent.  Offensively, he's a pro-style guy.  But I think Schiano would have had the same problems at Michigan because the divide is deeper than just football philosophy, but rather is one of the identity and soul of the university. 

Schiano is not from the midwest.  He's from Jersey.  He never coached in the midwest, unless you count Penn State (where he had his most productive stint as an assistant), as a midwest school, which it is not.  He never recruited midwest players.  Like RichRod, he likes recruiting Florida.  He not only could have left, but many think his dream is to one day take over for JoePa, an in-conference rival. 

In any event, I think these attributes would have caused the same problems that occurred under RichRod.  The reason why is because many view the coach as a representative of the university, and if you have an outsider, there will invariably be howls of him not having "midwest values."  I actually think the NY/NJ students would have loved him, but there still would be that divide. 

My fear with Hoke is that he'll swing too far the other way.  We need fast players on this team, and most of those players are not from the midwest.  There has to be some offensive creativity because we'll never have the insane defensive talent that teams like Alabama and USC can amass.  It's a delicate balance.  We're already seeing fissures develop with the DR v. Gardner debate, and now with the "what offense do you prefer" debate, and that's after one loss. 

I actually don't think the Michigan family is any more united today than they were when RichRod was hired.  We're just experiencing a honeymoon period that ends when events like last Sat. happen, or if we get blown out by a spread team, or if Meyer takes over at OSU and we go on another losing streak.  The "We are ND" meme is not really a distant memory.  It will happen as soon as something goes wrong.  Since we are unsure about the identity of the program, and of the university, we will always have these problems. 
32 weeks 5 days ago That's What I Heard as Well

FWIW, total hearsay, but I have a good friend who who has multiple legacies at ND and whose family knows a lot of boosters.  He told me that Meyer wanted 6 players each year he could override with admissions, and at the time ND was only willing to give him 1, so that's why he didn't take the job.  Of course, with guys like Blanton it's pretty obvious they're still making exceptions, but Meyer really wanted to stretch that.  It'll be interesting to see if they're making exceptions with Kelly now that they're more desperate for wins. 
40 weeks 4 hours ago Recruiting Angle

I do think Shannon does bear some responsiblity because the head coach is ultimately responsible for recruiting.  Instead of trying to stop Shapiro from steering players the wrong way, perhaps Shannon should have used character as a factor in recruiting.  If every player Shannon recruited was like Denard, for example, do you think Shapiro would have been as damaging as he was?  Not every player will succumb to the temptations provided by Shaprio, so why didn't Shannon recruit those players.  I submit he still could have amassed impressive talent, and not had nearly the problems that have now surfaced.  Look no further than what John Beilien has done with the basketball program, with far fewer resources I might add. 
43 weeks 5 days ago The Only Explanation

is that there wasn't as much money involved here as there was in USC.  Remember, Reggie Bush alone involved hundreds of thousands of dollars (he was sued for $290,000, there was the nice house etc...).  The only accusation here involving a substantial amount of money approaching that is the Talbott autographs for money (ESPN report).  I guess the report was either wrong or the NCAA just could not find enough evidence.  Taken together, if you believe the number of players involved according to the reports, the money could end up somewhere approaching Bush alone (although it's hard to quantify car discounts), which would justify a failure to monitor. 

The fact that there wasn't as much money here allows OSU play a sympathy card about how disadvantaged athletes should have been given stipends blah blah blah...a nice diversion from what most of us think is willful blindness.  USC (and Auburn potentially with Cam Newton) could not play that card because the gifts were substantial.  I absolutely think that angle factored into the decision because now everyone is talking about stipends. 
50 weeks 5 days ago He'll Have the Least Competition Here

because all he has to do to win the starting job is beat Gardner and Bellomy.  In order to win the starting job, Gardner has to fit exactly what Borges wants IMO.  Borges isn't going to adjust his offense for four years.  With Denard, he has a special talent and someone who had a really good season, so he has to adapt for Denard's two remaining years.  However, it's unreasonable to expect an OC to adapt for four years, which could be a problem because I don't think Gardner has proven he can make all the pro-style throws yet.  If Kiel comes in and he displays a better ability to make those throws, he will start.  Competing with someone who was recruited under an old regime and a last minute QB is better than competing against QBs who were recruited for the same system.  Bellomy could be a wild card here.  He really came on strong his senior season and  I'm glad we landed him.
 
Theme provided by Roopletheme; sidebars adapted from Chris Murphy.