Member for

13 years 3 months
Points
249.00

Recent Comments

Date Title Body
Change the Title

Please change the title on this post in light of  yesterday's events in Florida.  I'm sure it just didn't occur to you, but it's jarring.

Zordich played at Penn State.

Zordich played at Penn State.




Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Multiple posts to this effect

Multiple posts to this effect slamming one of our student athletes for no reason? Not obvious you're a troll at all, you seem like a sincere Michigan fan to me.




Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Hopefully someone still gets

Hopefully someone still gets drafted, but I view this as a bit more evidence of Hoke's failures in talent identification and development. His first full class is either seniors or redshirt juniors and was a highly regarded class but for the most part they haven't developed well enough to get drafted.

Part of it is timing, too, though, as we have a few juniors who chose not to go pro and Funchess went pro early when he would otherwise have been with this group.

We'll have a lot more guys getting drafted going forward, starting with a pretty strong group next year.




Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Exactly

Did not want him and I'm sure there was nothing more to this than the search firm contacting one of many potential candidates as part of their research process.

Tom Herman

I get that there's some risk with taking someone without head coaching experience, but as we've seen these last four years, head coaching experience is no guarantee of anything.  I'll take his upside over a mediocre head coach.  He's a brilliant young guy, heads up an unbelievable offense, is also the quarterback coach responsible for Barrett's rapid development, and he recruits lights out.  

And I don't buy the argument that it's just Urban's offense so we can't tell anything about Herman.  Herman's calling the plays.  And Dan Mullen has obviously gone on to do incredibly well as a head coach.  I think Herman's less of a gamble than a lot of mid-level head coaches, and I'd rather take a little risk for way more upside.

Okay

(1) A boycott would not be about the team's performance and would not be because people don't want to watch the team play.  It would be because people feel it's one of the only ways they can make their voices heard to achieve change within the athletic department.

(2) The proposed boycott for the Penn State game is only for KICKOFF.  We're talking about a matter of a few minutes to make a statement.  If you were being a fair weather fan, you'd skip the entire game because you just don't want to go.

I'm ambivalent about the idea of a boycott, because I'm not sure it will really have any effect and it does seem likely to bother the players.  But at the same time, I think people need to make sure their voices are heard by the people in charge and if they think that's the way to do it, more power to them.  Just do whatever you can to simultaneously make the players feel supported.

This is from the CSG President?

Embarrassing.  Wow, that is some poorly reasoned, politically correct BS.  I didn't realize even student government leaders acted like politicians.  Dave Brandon would hire this guy in a heartbeat.  His argument is seriously no more than "support the players" and "trust the people in charge."

The sentiment in the first point is fine, though it completely ignores that the goal of the kickoff-only protest would be to make a point while still supporting the team.  People aren't boycotting the whole game.

The second point is essentially asking people to just change their minds about Dave Brandon and decide he must be a swell guy who should keep his job.  Saying "you shouldn't argue Dave Brandon should be fired" because "you should trust him" is such a vacuous argument.  Providing, I don't know, one single shred of evidence that Brandon has earned any trust would be make it an actual argument.

One last thing that really irked me in this:  He said that the protest "does not reflect the true nature of Michigan."  Sure, supporting each other and building community are core values at Michigan.  But sitting silently by and letting people in power do whatever the hell they want is decidedly not what Michgan is about.  There's a great history of protest and civil disobedience in Ann Arbor.  Feel free to disagree about whether the athletic director is a subject worth protesting, but it's just wrongheaded to say that making your voice heard on an issue of importance to you is somehow un-Michigan.

This whole post just reeks of kissing up to the administration, Brandon in particular.  Bizarre.

Bet

Dollars to donuts it's the two Republican members.  Given that the Regents split 6-2 Democrat-Republican, it seems likely.

As Brian pointed out on Twitter, I believe

I'm sure it's because he hired a PR firm after this turned into a complete shitstorm, and the PR people told him he had to go out and do some interviews and humanize himself.  Well, he failed.

Disagree

If this was all about the record, the heat would be on Hoke, not Brandon.  The vast majority of the attention and frustration has been directed at Brandon himself.  Most here are fine with Hoke staying on for the rest of the season, but want Brandon gone asap.  Does the poor record inflame things? Sure.  But people would be livid with Brandon either way.  His athletic department has habitually lied to students and alums and treated them like stupid, fungible customers rather than lifelong participants in something special.  And he has spectacularly mishandled the Morris concussion issue this week.

Nice Support

This is a really nice gesture, and I'm sure a lot of fans would also have gone if it was open to the public.  

On a related note, it's getting really frustrating to hear all the "this is only about the 2-3 record" and "you're not supporting the players" BS.  The record may have given people less patience with Hoke, but the Dave Brandon issues are separate and far more significant.  The focus in the fanbase shifted from Hoke to Brandon very quickly after Saturday, but not enough people seem to understand the full context.  If someone is suggesting the record is part of the cause of frustration with Hoke, okay.  If they're suggesting it's the root cause of all this unrest, they're completely clueless.

Also, EVERYONE is still rooting for these kids to succeed.  That's completely unrelated to the long list of legitimate complaints people have with Brandon.

[Double Post]

Edit - My bad

Trying to Weather the Storm

I hate that he's doing these interviews because it seems like he thinks he can weather the storm with some PR bullshit and hang on to his job.  His relationship with the Michigan fanbase is irreperably damaged no matter what he says, and he has to go.  I had some hope that there were negotiations for a graceful exit going on behind the scenes, but this kind of dashes those hopes.  The atmosphere around the program is not going to improve while he's still around, and I can't imagine how he could possibly hire a plausible coach after all this.  Ugh.

Jeff Long

I've been wondering why Jeff Long of Arkansas hasn't been mentioned, because he really has a more impressive career as an AD than either Manuel or Bates and is going to be the chair of the playoff selection committee.  But it turns out he went to high school with Hoke and also overlapped with Hoke at Michigan:

http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2013/10/jeff_long_cfp_chairman_michiga.html

So I can see how he might not be the best hire right now or might not be interested in the job.  Hope this rumor has some truth to it and we see some changes for the better being made in the AD.

Pipkins' weight

I saw that.  Seems like great news.  I was concerned he'd have trouble keeping his weight down with his injury.  Having him at 100% and a healthy weight should be a big boost to the interior of our line.

Pipkins

I think the best news that seems to be consistently coming out of fall practice is Pipkins' health and perfomance.  We had no idea what we would get out of him after he was hurt and I think most would have been happy with him as a serviceable back-up at NT this year.  If he can return to be not just solid but a force on the DL, that is absolutely huge.

Rough Prose

"Rough prose" is putting it mildly, but I'll take just about any update on how the team is looking right now.

Agreed

Though Borges could be frustrating and ultimately just did not get the job done well enough, he seems like a great guy who worked hard for the program.  Hope he lands on his feet.

Arkansas & Va Tech

If MSU and OSU are both going to be away in even years and home in odd years, it's nice that Arkansas and Va Tech are both at home in even years. 

So if the schedule stays this way our home schedule will include:

2018 - Arkansas, PSU

2019 - MSU, OSU

2020 - Va Tech, PSU

2021 - MSU, OSU

Not ideal, but I like the idea of having the marquee non-conference game at home in the off years from MSU and OSU.

Agree

I think the 2010 version was even better put together and had a more positive moments to choose from.  2009 was obviously the original, but I think in this case the sequel was even better than the original.  Both pretty amazing.

Just donated

Just donated.  So glad to see him working on this and the Michigan community supporting it.  I really hope it takes off.  Odoms is a credit to the University and the football program.

James Ross

Looked like James Ross was running with the first team in a few of those clips.  Wouldn't be surprised to see him end up starting at WILL at some point this season.

Depth

Their depth will get better this fall when they get Tyler O'Connor on campus.  Will be essentially the same as ours was last year, with a starter, a second string sophomore, and a true fresman.  

Doesn't sound too serious, but they definitely want him to get as many snaps with those new receivers as possible.  I'll be really interested to watch their passing attack early in the fall.

Terrible

Wish him and his family the absolute best.

Wow

I think that makes ESPN the highest on our class of all the services.  Amazing to have 15 four stars, including 11 in the 150.  I'm sure someone will find some reason to complain, but I can't see any.  Love seeing them so high on Conley.  He and Lewis are a quality pair of corners in this class.  Also amazing to have all five of our Oline recruits in the top 150.  That's a virtually unheard of Oline haul.  

Looking at our rivals, OSU will certainly have a quality class and MSU seems unlikely to have any 150 players.  But their three best recruits (Powell, Reschke, and Jones) don't seem to have been rated yet.  I don't think they'll be in the 150, but any of the three could be a four star and it wouldn't surprise me.

Love this class.

Guesses

I'd guess McCray, Gedeon, and Conley.  Still don't think Isaac pulls the trigger until after he visits USC, but we'll see.  Man, recruiting's going to be pretty boring again next fall.  But that's a good problem.

Hope so

Seems likely considering MSU and OSU are 2 seeds at the moment.

Agreed

We're in the hunt to win the conference.  This isn't a storm the court kind of game.  This is an "at least act like you expected to win" kind of game.

Not sure if serious...

Not sure if serious...

Possible

All possible, but I really doubt Clark will ever be big enough for SDE and suspect that Morgan will either move to MLB or get passed by someone more athletic at WLB, with Ross a likely candidate.  Regardless, tons of potential in this defense going forward.

If it weren't for Sparty fans...

I like the idea for the game itself.  It's going to be a huge game next year, could basically determine the Big Ten champion, and would be an amazing environment under the lights.

The problem, as has been said above, is that Ann Arbor might not survive an all day into the night visit from drunken STAEE fans.  It would be a disaster, with tons of property damage, drunk driving, and fighting.  Horrible idea.  Have the game at noon or 3:30 and get them the hell out of Ann Arbor asap.

Say anything

I think it's also that he seems to be the ultimate "I will say anything to get you to sign" type of recruiter.  Will tell lots of kids they are his number 1 priority, tells kids he feels God wants him to coach them, makes up dreams he's had about coaching guys so it sounds like their destiny.  Just a pure sleazy salesman type.  Not as flat-out evil as Saban, but sleazy seems like a good word for it.

Why?

Out of curiosity, why is that one okay?  I've seen it on here without it getting shouted down, but wondered why.

Agreed

I agree completely.  "Ohio" and "Sparty" are fine, but obnoxious stuff like Urban "Liar," "Suckeyes," or "Dumbtonio" is no better than "scUM," "cHoke," or "Joke."  We shouldn't sink to their level.

Thompson

I seem to recall reading that Thompson was actually being recruited as a corner.  Would make some sense as it seems like he has the speed for it and the coaches have been looking for bigger corners (Standifer's exit notwithstanding).  Would allow him to come in along with another safety prospect.

Norfleet

I would think he'd go after Dennis Norfleet.  If Rodriguez were still here, I would think he'd have been in our class.  Fits the spread perfectly.  And he's only committed to Cincinnati, so you might be able to lure him away to Arizona.

Huh?

Why are you strongly against him coming here?

Right on

100% agreed.  I think we can be welcoming and friendly to the fans and still be loud as hell for the game to create a hostile environment for the team.

Uniforms

I called Dave Brandon's office and left a message registering my disgust with the gimmicky uniforms.  Ridiculous to sink to MSU's level.  If other people feel strongly about it, they should do so as well.  It may not change anything, but it's worth a shot.   

The number is:  734-764-9416

Late comment

I know I'm late commenting on this because I just saw it in the dear diary post, but just wanted to say what a great job you did on this.  This is the kind of thing that makes Mgoblog and awesome place to follow Michigan football.  Amazing.

Saturday

Hope we as fans on Saturday can find a way to show our respect and concern.  Maybe by at least not booing Minnesota when they're announced.  This is a tough situation for them and he really does seem like a class act.  Hope he gets his health in order and can continue to coach.

Center

Wouldn't be surprised if Caleb Stacey ended up playing center, with all of our other o-line commits in this class.  He seems a little smaller than the other guys and like a really bright kid who could take on the role of center quite well.  

Doubt it

I assume if he commits to us, he cancels those visits.  But if he committed to one of them, he'd still go on that visit but not the other one.  The fact that there are two still scheduled seems like a better sign than if it were only the Tennessee visit.

[EDIT:  Slow.]

Okay

But that doesn't make this guy any less wrong.

Idiot

This guy is a fool.  Just because there have been problems at other schools with selling gear, we should never give the players anything they could sell?  That's no way to treat the players.  You have to keep them educated about NCAA compliance, but you can't act like you assume they're all likely to run out and sell everything they're given.  Come on.  This guy probably wouldn't want us to give out Big Ten Championship rings, either.  There's really no difference.  Just a guy trying to find something controversial to write about, but he is COMPLETELY off base.  

Stickers

I think the aversion to the stickers is they look like shit on an otherwise clean, classic helmet.  I understand that there's no reason to hate them from a tradition perspective, since Bo started them, but they destroy the look of the best helmets in college football.

Agreed

The stripes are out of control and the bizarre weasel on the front of the Big Chill jerseys looked absurd.

"although I wouldn't mind if it was."

I want to see them punished appropriately, but I've noticed a lot of desire on this board for the worst penalties possible.  Some sanctions (scholarship losses, bowl ban, Tressel fire) are beneficial to Michigan in the short term, but long term it's still best for both programs to have each other as major rivals.  A punishment that fundamentally changes OSU football forever would be bad for Michigan, too.  I love the rivalry and would hate to see it damaged to that extent.

Standifer

Didn't merit its ownt thread, but I saw that Standifer was offered by Notre Dame.  A good sign that we're in early on a guy whose recruitment might really take off.