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We have the greatest…

We have the greatest football coach of all-time looking at the NIL / transfer / roster management / conference-shifting landscape and saying "You know what? I'm good. Time to hit the beach.",
yet we got MFers on here thinking it is a reasonable possibility that John Beilein will want to come back to Div 1 NCAA coaching after a 5-year layoff.

Yes, I think there is too…

Yes, I think there is too much learned helplessness -- "Well, the team stinks. What are you going to do?"

Of course the team being good is key; but the average athletic dept staffer has no control over that. But what they *could* do, for example, is make sure when it's Spring Break that every single Maize Rage ticket is filled with a middle/high schooler who is thrilled to have such good seats for a B1G game. That it becomes part of that middle school's culture that every February they go to a game and support the Wolverines. 

The AD has a $200 million budget; there should be available staffers whose sole job is developing & maintaining these relationships to get not only butts in seats, but maize & blue butts.

As I mentioned earlier, I went to a Pistons-Magic game recently and it was 2/3 filled. I was in the upper level with my son, but in various spots there were youth groups. One kept leading cheers of "MVP! MVP!" for Cade Cunningham every time he did something good. It was stupid (Cade is a nice player, but he's no MVP), but it also helped make a game btw a team that lost more games in a row than any team in NBA history and a high-class mediocre Magic team pretty fun and contributed to a good home atmosphere.

That's because there is a…

That's because there is a completely different culture of support in Michigan at Yost than there is at Crisler. It has been that way for 30-plus years. Just look at that post the other day that had extensive "guidelines" to all the many cheers & jeers by the Children of Yost; can you imagine us needing to have anything like that for the Maize Rage/Michigan basketball?

The basketball team (this year excluded, obviously) has been pretty good-to-great for a long time. Yet, for whatever reason, it has never gained the devoted fan base that the football or the hockey team has. We are literally not a basketball school.

Of course, a key factor is…

Of course, a key factor is the team stinks. That is never good for fan support.

However, te fact is Michigan has never had a good (let alone great) fan base when it comes to basketball. We are in the bottom half of the B1G. It is a front-running fan base. The student section is nothing special; the fat cat seats are regularly left unfilled unless the game is a middle-to-top tier opponent; and our athletic department is pathetic in terms of being active in getting empty seats (whether for resale or they haven't been sold yet in the first place) filled with people who will root for Michigan, e.g., lack of sales to local basketball teams or schools.

I go to 2-3 Pistons games a year. The Pistons have been terrible, basically, for 15 years. So there is no reason for there to be a good fan base (i.e., it's not just 1-2 bad years) and there are plenty of empty seats. If you go when the Pistons are playing Toronto, get ready for some loud cheering for the Raptors. That said, the Pistons at least try to fill those seats, making sure there is a robust secondary ticket market (which too often isn't the case for Michigan games) and more importantly, regularly getting local kids' soccer clubs, schools, Boy Scout troops etc to the games, where they often cheer like the middle school over-amped kids they are. Thus, the atmosphere, even if half-full with Pistons' fans, is usually pretty supportive and rowdy in a good way. UM could take notes.

Keon Sabb will be 22 in…

Keon Sabb will be 22 in September. It is completely rational for someone of his talent to want to be a starter (and not just a "starter") and get a lot of plays on tape for the NFL.

I think "bummer" is the right way to classify it -- I don't like it, but it doesn't impact the starters and there are reasonable replacement options for the no. 3 spot (e.g., beyond Berry, go look at Brandyn Hillman's offer sheet -- that's the type of dude who should be ready to at least be a solid backup as a sophomore). It is not reasonable in today's college football to hold onto older, talented players who don't have starting positions. I can't get upset about that.

OK, here are two more games …

OK, here are two more games (in which Q Johnson wasn't hurt & able to play, and Paige didn't have a bum ankle which limited his mobility)

UM vs OSU:
R. Moore: 58 (out of 58 possible)
M. Paige: 43
Q. Johnson: 15
K. Sabb: 0

(notice how Paige + Johnson = Moore)

UM vs Penn State:
R. Moore: 53 (out of 63 possible)
M. Paige: 45
Q. Johnson: 19
K. Sabb: 11

So if Moore and Paige are healthy, they suck up the large majority of snaps. It is understandable if Sabb doesn't want to limit himself to likely playing just 1/4 to 1/2 of the game.

Yeah, I don't know if there…

Yeah, I don't know if there is anything Morgan can do if Sabb wants to be an "almost every down" starter (which he certainly would be on 90% of the teams out there).

Here are the snaps in the Rose Bowl:
R Moore: 62
Q Johnson: 37
M Paige: 32
K Sabb: 5

Now, I assume if Sabb stays, he would get up to the Q level of snaps, but if he wants more than that, he's not getting it here. That's what happens when you have an All-American along with a high-performing 5th year senior-to-be returning.

Not sure I get the confusion…

Not sure I get the confusion. He has spent his last two years in the NFL (49ers 2022 as an analyst; Texans safety coach in 2023), which of course means his current (and apparently future) job is in the NFL. That's an NFL person.

Seriously. It will work out…

Seriously. It will work out. This guy is/was good; there are other good guys. Sherrone took a big swing at an NFL guy and came quite close; now focus on college guys.

I have seen no evidence…

I have seen no evidence Minter was looking for a college HC job. For example, it was clear once Harbaugh to the NFL rumors started this off-season that Moore was a leading candidate; I didn't see any rumblings from insiders or reporters that Minter was looking elsewhere in CFB for another gig -- and he certainly had the opportunity: think of all the top programs that needed coaches. Arizona, Washington, Duke, Miss State etc would have *loved* to hire someone like Minter. But you didn't hear a peep (which usually comes from agents putting their clients name out there, to get the fan base & rich alums fired up).

He clearly wants to compete in the NFL and test his wares there. If he succeeds in LA, in 2-4 years he'll be in line to be a HC in the NFL---the top of the heap (in prestige, and FWIW, money).

it certainly was big of him…

it certainly was big of him to say, but I don’t know if I would really consider him as being passed up for it. He seemed very much to be on the NFL path, and the best way to be an NFL head coach, is to star as a coordinator. Being the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers seem to be the position he was looking for, not being head coach of any college program. 

Will Sherrone be lured away…

Will Sherrone be lured away to another college in a year or two, say, his alma mater Oklahoma
 

What? That is what you’re worried about—that Moore is going to leave for Oklahoma in a couple years? He busts his butt and becomes coach of the defending national champions, the winningest program in history, and Oklahoma currently has a top-notch coach with deep ties who they long coveted & is years away from retirement…how on earth would Moore to Oklahoma happen?

Isn't his full name, Warde…

Isn't his full name, Warde Manuel Excel?

You tryin' to tell me Jesus…

You tryin' to tell me Jesus Christ couldn't hit a curve ball?

I don't believe anyone…

I don't believe anyone regarding this. There were a couple of prominent posters who said, "If we win...that's it! I'm going out on top and leaving this obsession with Michigan football behind."

Then a couple days after (and in the weeks since) they are on here complaining about Warde, wondering who our DC will be, etc.

Best wishes to anyone who decides to move on, but I have my doubts, especially to anyone who is focused on "not liking the direction of college football" etc. That tends to work as well as all the folks who said they were boycotting the NFL a few years ago, and NFL ratings are higher than ever.

Yeah, my goodness, some…

Yeah, my goodness, some posters on here are giant babies.

This is a competitive business. If UM wants to be competitive for these particular people, it has to give them the best offer: salary, job duties, path for advancement, environment, etc. So if they want to keep Clinkscale (for example) he's going to need to have at least part of defensive coordinator duties (more than he had in 2023) and a salary bump.

If Moore doesn't want to do that, and is like, "That's alright - we would like to keep you where you are at in 2023" then Clink has every right to take another offer that would have certain advantages (e.g., more pay; more prestige).

Did ND suck their thumbs when we went after the Director of Player Personnel? No. They offered the guy more cash, better contract, etc. Michigan can decide to step up for these guys, or not: it's a choice for Michigan and a choice for them. That's how it works. 

What I've always like about…

What I've always like about that Tartar Field video (among other things) is that after "Ramblin' Rose" (in which a very high Wayne Kramer struts and preens and sings falsetto to a not very receptive audience), they then go into "Kick Out the Jams" which causes the crowd to get out of their seats like there has been an electric shock delivered...and then they don't do anything! The crowd was leaving it up to the MC5 to do the rockin' out, because the crowd was sedate as hell.

I think that largely depends…

I think that largely depends upon how much everyone is up for an Orji in 2024.

The kids are coming up from…

"I'm losing my edge, To better looking people... with better ideas"

(BTW: I think 1/3 of the board is re-enacting this video, while another 1/3 would like to do this to Warde. Lighten up people! It will all work out...probably!)

If it's good enough for…

If it's good enough for Curly Lambeau and George Halas, it's good enough for us.

Make *what* better? What did…

Make *what* better? What did Herbert (allegedly) want? 10-year contract? Lifetime contract? $2 million/year? $5 million? Did he want to report directly to the AD and not to the new coach?

If anyone can point me to any of those details, I can decide whether to be mad.

They all seem like they're…

They all seem like they're having a good time, even the guy squatting down whose right arm has been chopped off, so I think we're good!

There have been a few media,…

There have been a few media, quick compilation, stories.

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/michigan-players-fans-more-celebrate-sherrone-moore-hire

Zinter, Barnhart, Denard, JJ, Hammering Panda, Grant Newsome, a few others.

https://twitter.com…

Ben Herbert here for the Sherrone Moore press conference. 
Image

— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) January 27, 2024
Who visits the game threads?…

Who visits the game threads? I'm being serious -- I haven't visited one in at least 5 years.

They are uniformly awful, at least for college sports. Dregs of humanity type stuff.

No summary. No working link…

No summary. No working link. Keep up the good work.

You didn't miss much. I live…

You didn't miss much. I live in the area and thought, last summer, "Let's see what this place is all about."

To say it was run down would be an understatement. It had a scoreboard that was a) digital with orange pixels and b) over half of them didn't work. Most of it looks like it hadn't been updated or cleaned in decades.

The races themselves were impressive (horses are magnificent animals) but it's a very good thing it's going to be replaced by housing and a park. Tons of people want to live in Northville; this will give more people the opportunity to do so.

Yep, I didn't realize this…

Yep, I didn't realize this would be his 6th year; knowing that, it makes complete sense to go. 

The man is 23 years old! He's been at school for 5 years, already graduated, and was an important part of an undefeated team.

Go out on a high note and move on to the next stage.

(No subject)

via GIFER

Your reminder that Alex Orji…

Your reminder that Alex Orji can throw a ball 62 yards in the air...going to his left.

He's Joe Milton, but fast (as a runner).

Question is: can Harbaugh, with 3 years of coaching, turn Alex into a 60-65% passer? I say yes.

It's Orji time.

(Still need to hit the portal for a WR, DE, and CB though -- really too bad that Clemons left)

 

I am surprised the UM…

I am surprised the UM lawyers haven't told these folks to take (at least part of) these down. The bottle on the left clearly infringes on Michigan's trademarked helmet design.

The ones in the middle and right are very likely fine, but the left one is clearly the helmet.

https://brand.umich.edu/trademarks-permissions/trademarks/

That’s awful. 
 

it’s also…

That’s awful. 
 

it’s also concerning that I’ve seen some pretty significant backsliding in the NFL and college game when it comes to concussions. For example, TJ Watt. A few weeks ago he got his head hit on a play, got up, shaking his head, and instead of him being thoroughly checked out, they did nonsense like putting a shaded visor on him, and pretending it was something else. After the game, they finally realized he had a concussion. He should’ve been pulled right away. There was another game a week or two ago, where a QB hit his head, and then the sideline reporter said, oh, he’s OK ; the trainers had him run in a straight line and he’s good. Does that sound like a neurological test? 

Concussions are brain injuries. The very least we can do is significantly reduce the chances middle schoolers and younger get them.

They are not going to hold a…

They are not going to hold a parade if the weather is 15 degrees and snowy (actual forecast for this weekend). It's too dangerous.

If they somehow can't get a parade together by Thursday (which would be tough), I think they're likely to have a big rally in Crisler.

But other than that, basically from Friday on, it's either 30 MPH wind, 20 degrees (or much colder), and/or snowy. That is not "let's gather tens of thousands of people outside on the street" weather.

Yeah, this is a question we…

Yeah, the OP's question is one we already know the answer to: beyond the fact he has just starting building the program and will now be in a Top 2 conference, he has a daughter at UW so unless the Seahawks job opens up, he's staying at UW for at least a few years.

No chance, but perhaps if he…

No chance, but perhaps if he bugs out again, he'll consider coming up north. Good luck to him in Tallahassee.

One coach was shocked to…

One coach was shocked to learn Michigan was a four-point favorite.
 

The only real good to come out of these articles by Feldman is confirmation that coaches really don't know ball. I already basically knew this, as the Coaches Poll has always been the most worthless ranking around, but these articles show the depth of their ignorance.

They may know their own team, and how their particular team can best compete with an opponent (including Michigan or Washington, if they played them), but when it comes to evaluating the overall body of work of any other team, they really don't have much of a clue.

Any dedicated, at least somewhat sophisticated college football fan would not be surprised at all that Michigan is the favorite, especially if you spent any time with the fancy stats. But these college coaches must be spending so much time on recruiting, prepping practice plans, analyzing their own game film that when it comes time to speak knowledgeably about two teams that they only really looked at briefly vis-a-vis their own, they are gomers.

Coincidentally, Mr. Germany…

Coincidentally, Mr. Germany recently opened up a Crumbl in Centreville, Utah. So he's franchise business owner and is being productive, which can't be said of most 0.0 GPA recipients.

https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2023/04/27/former-osu-player-finding-success-with-cookie-company

https://www.yelp.com/biz/crumbl-cookies-centerville-centerville

Yeah, this is the key: you…

Yeah, this is the key: you can win a championship without a 10-plus 5 stars if you have elite QB play. That's a requirement.

- Michigan doesn't win on Monday with Shea Patterson, Wilton Speight or Jake Rudock at QB.

- Washington doesn't win on Monday with Jacob Eason, Keith Price or even Jake Browning at QB.

I defy someone to find any example in the last 20 years of a team that has won it all that has not had either a) a roster stacked with NFL talent in most places b/c they have mostly 4 and 5 stars or b) an elite, top 5 college QB. Doesn't exist.

Maybe I'm misreading your …

Maybe I'm misreading your "surprise" but the fact he has a 3.5 YPC is not surprise -- it is right in line with how he has performed, which has been below average. And I don't mean "below average for him" ; I mean, "below average for a RB in the B1G." His year has been a huge disappointment.

He typically falls down on first contact; he has occasionally looked confused about the route when going out for a pass; dropped a ball during the Rose Bowl (which likely would not have been a first down, but still, it was an easy catch); and provided almost no explosive plays for the whole year while also not being good at pushing the pile.

At this point, we are are 14 games into the season and the sample size isn't small; he should be used for 2-3 carries, along with a few passes out of the backfield and that's it. The rest of the playing time should go to Corum (as usual) and Mullings (which started to happen during the Rose Bowl, which paid dividends -- he had one pile-pushing run along with a nice catch for a first down).

Re next year? That's next year. He'll have to compete for playing time like anyone else.

Unless there is an injury reason for his poor performance this year, I don't have any confidence (just a hope, as he seems like he's a good guy and supportive teammate) that he'll bounce back. In fact, if he gets a mid-round NFL grade, he should go into the draft; it's too risky b/c if Edwards has another year like this year, he will go undrafted, as RB is a low-value NFL draft position and no team is going to draft someone who averaged under 4 yards a carry for two years in a row.

The problem is he made…

The problem is he made multiple mistakes (e.g., there was another punt he didn't field that he let bounce and almost hit him) and didn't make enough positive plays to make up for it. As opposed to Wilson, who made an incredibly stupid block in the back, and then turned it around with a great catch for a long gain (and has obviously showed dozens of times over his career he can be relied on).

Punt return should be, first & foremost, a low-drama activity. You are correct that Semaj should be given a chance in practice, but finding another option for punt returns should absolutely be on the table. It's not a nitpick -- special teams issues would have been reason #1 if we lost that game.

Yeah, just shocking levels…

Yeah, just shocking levels of bad coaching throughout.

Beyond Semaj muffing the 1st punt, he came dangerously close to touching another punt that hit the ground and caromed near him; that should *never* happen. If you're not going to field a punt, you need to run away from it like a grenade. 

Then if someone needs to be back there on the last punt, Thaw -- who I assume had been told to fair catch any ball -- isn't back far enough. He should have been at the 5, but is instead at the 10, drifting backwards five yards to (not) catch it. It is always easier to move forward to catch a ball than it is go backwards. Alternative, tell him to be at the 10 and *plant* his feet there, letting the ball bounce if it goes over his head (which it would have).

The whole year, they never developed a low-drama, sure-handed punt returner (think of the multiple times Thaw got absolutely drilled by his own teammates).

A rare weak spot on an otherwise really well-rounded team.

I am sure you'll have a nice…

I am sure you'll have a nice time, as it's a big city with a lot to do (I'll let the locals give recs), and you're going to a freaking national championship game, but I will just give my impression the first time I visited Houston:

- "Houston: the traffic of Los Angeles with the humidity of New Orleans"

- I thought the broadcast…

- I thought the broadcast announcers were fine...

- ...but the direction was so-so. There weren't any missed plays, but there were too many missed replays (e.g., you could hear the crowd erupt in the 2nd half. Why? According to Twitter, it was b/c Clemons got pulled by his face mask to the ground. The broadcast should have been on that)

- The amount of commercials was Fox-esque (i.e., terrible)

- And a special shout-out to YouTubeTV: a good portion of my second half was at 480p, for whatever reason, and YouTube support was just telling people, "Hmmm...we're not sure why people are experiencing that. Turn it on, turn it off."

People have to realize that…

People have to realize that Finebaum is playing a character. He is not authentic in any way. When it's a non-controversial topic, he can speak with intelligence on football. But he knows how to get views & clicks, and that is through being the "Pete Finebaum" it-just-means-more guy, so that's what he does.

For people who want college football to be pro wrestling, he is worthwhile -- to love or to hate. For me, I like people who mean what they say, so I don't spend much time thinking about him.

Yep. I admire Kerr, and…

Yep. I admire Kerr, and beyond him being an exceptionally successful player and coach (in terms of championships), he seems like a thoughtful, smart guy.

However, even good guys can screw up and he did royally here. It shows everyone has their blind spots, and he clearly has one with Draymond. This last year and a half, GSW has been reaping what they sowed.

They may want to leave, but…

They may want to leave, but where are they going to go? Do they have an offer from the B1G or SEC? My understanding is they do not.

I'm sure the SEC would be interested in FSU and Clemson, so work with them and get a package deal going. Otherwise, it's just a lot of message board yelling & whining, but from wood paneled rooms & stuffed leather seats.

...thinks he fell asleep on…

...thinks he fell asleep on the way in to work

 

I'm sorry, what? It is bad enough to be so tired after a full day-plus at the office that you fall asleep, but this guy was apparently so tired he was going in to work and feel asleep while operating heavy machinery in public?

I don't find this comedic at all. It's pathetic. If you are so tired that you are putting yourself and other people's lives at risk, it better be because you have been up multiple nights doing something truly essential, not a head coach with a bajillion support staff people who are there to help you. If I was the IU President, I would be pissed. This new coach better be honestly contrite about this, as opposed to treating it as a "whoops...my bad!"

It was only a half a day!…

It was only a half a day! Get it right -- this is a court of law!

No, this is correct -- go to…

No, this is correct -- go to the Niners Nation blog and/or the artists formerly known as Twitter (if you want to) and look at some of the top posts from Niners fans from 1-2 months ago. It was taken as a given that Moody was a shaky part of the team; even when he made kicks (which was typical), they were unimpressed by them not being dead straight etc.

Certainly was a good reminder that most of us message board poster do not know jack squat or, at the very least, have a poor sense of perspective.

The "right place" in this…

The "right place" in this case is he worked under Sean McVay for that one year with the Rams. McVay's coaching tree has been incredibly successful, considering how young he is.

- Zac Taylor (already made a Super Bowl)
- Matt LaFlerr (3 straight 13 win seasons with the Packers)
- Jedd Fisch (turned Univ of Arizona around, pronto -- obviously Jedd features under some other coaching trees as well, specifically Jim Harbaugh)
- Kevin O'Connell (made playoffs in first year with the Vikings)

So if you're young and considered an "up & comer", some franchise will hire you -- and have some success.